Posted on 02/13/2005 11:35:39 AM PST by gwb43_2004
WASHINGTON — Cancel the cozy days at Camp David, Md. Put away the underused running shoes. When it comes to weekend enjoyment, all President Bush seems to need is some winding trails and a helmet.
And his mountain bike.
Bush recently has been logging scores of miles on a secluded spread in Beltsville, Md., and the rolling hills of Quantico, Va., far from the White House.
"He's become a biking maniac," said Mark McKinnon, his media adviser and frequent cycling companion.
What began as a way for the president to stay fit, after three decades of running ruined his knees, is now his passion.
Besides burning calories at a 1,000-per-hour clip, cycling gives Bush an emotional rush that sometimes surpasses the one he got from running.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
October 3, 1999
LIBERTIES / By MAUREEN DOWD
Cultural Drifter
WASHINGTON -- Here are some things you might not know about George W. Bush:
He hasn't gone out to see a movie in the last five years.
He likes Van Morrison.
The last actress who made his heart race was Julie Christie in "Doctor Zhivago."
He doesn't identify with any literary heroes, but is drawn to Paul Newman's defiance in "Cool Hand Luke" and Jack Nicholson's irreverence.
He loved "Cats."
In an interview about culture, W. gamely concedes there are yawning gaps. Baseball, he says, is his favorite "cultural experience." (Like his father, he views cultural questions as some kind of psychoanalysis.)
We're in a van on the way to Reagan airport after his speech to the Christian Coalition.
He has one word for opera: "No." He likes "nice, quiet jazz on the radio." He went to one ballet "and was amazed by the athleticism."
Although some of the Bushes are musical -- his uncle Jonathan was in a Bronx revival of "Oklahoma" in 1958 and his uncle Bucky plays the guitar and sings -- W. is not.
"I loved 'Cats,' " he says brightly.
He said he doesn't watch TV series, just news and sports. "Culturally adrift," he says, making a funny face. "Occasionally, I'll cruise into an A&E biography. The last one I saw was about me."
He avoids cable chat. "Now that I'm the subject, there's no telling what you'll hear about yourself. So I've just chosen not to listen."
He says he's usually asleep by Leno and Letterman, but adds: "They're actually very funny. Even at my own expense."
I asked if he and his wife, Laura, ever fight over the clicker. He says he's mostly doing work stuff or falling asleep. "We're both usually reading instead of battling over flickers."
He did not try to impress his librarian wife when they were dating by reading more. "Our first date was to go play putt-putt golf," he says.
As to literary preferences, he said: "I've always liked John La Care, Le Carrier, or however you pronounce his name. I'm mainly a history person." He's just finished "Isaac's Storm," a history of the Galveston hurricane of 1900, and reads Robert Parker's detective-for-hire stories.
Asked if he likes movies, he says: "Not too much. I like 'em O.K. I haven't been to a movie theater since I've been Governor. We occasionally rent movies. We've got a Blockbuster card the girls use more than Laura and me. The last movie I saw I really liked was 'Saving Private Ryan.'
"But prior to getting elected I did go to movies. Laura and I were talking the other day about the last time we'd gone to a movie. I think it was the day Ann Richards called me a jerk. It was 'Forrest Gump.' "
Has he ever censored his twin 17-year-old daughters' movie picks? "I can't think of anything. Uh oh, a giant hole in the net of censorship."
In an interview with GQ, the 53-year-old Governor said that when he was at Yale in the 60's, he did not share the musical tastes of the counterculture. He said he liked the Beatles before their "weird, psychedelic period."
I asked who was his favorite Beatle. "The first drummer," he joked. "As you know I was a fraternity man at Yale. I had parties. We had a lot of groups come in. I just was not, I mean, I like music. But I'm not a great aficionado of music."
Asked if he would set a cultural tone in the White House closer to Jackie's Pablo Casals or Bill's Kenny G, W. replied: "I imagine it would be eclectic. You know we've had Lyle Lovett come to the mansion to play. I probably won't be spending a lot of time making the list up. I'll delegate."
W. sometimes waggles his hips when he's on a stage. Does he like to dance?
"No," he said. "It's not a religious thing. I just don't dance. At the last inauguration, I did the box step for about 25 seconds and declared my dancing over for the year.
. . . I don't go to dances and I don't socialize very much."
Asked about Warren Beatty's Presidential flirting, W. asks something that probably hasn't even dawned on the Hollywood star: "The question is, Can he survive the Iowa caucuses?"
The Governor's perfect day would include running, fishing and watching sports on TV, followed by dinner with friends with Van Morrison playing in the background. Then, bed by 10.
Is this a great country or what?
At least he doesn't have a daisy pull on his jacket!
Ping.
Definitely should be banned. Same with pogo sticks, I think.........
(Just talked to said son, and he had just run 8 miles for fun.........knee hurts, but not too bad.........sigh..........it's a disease, I tell ya!)
By races I meant various distances or categories which allows for many different riding interest/abilities...
pong
Trajan88; TAMU Class of '88
Between you and me, I think she meant the whole thing as a slam, being the snooty elitist she is. It didn't quite "read" like to me, how about you?
To me, it helped make up my mind to support him.
Here's the original thread:
40 miles a week on a bike will give you the same benefit. The sun part is the variety of routes you can take now :)
Enjoy!! Best of luck.
That was from 1999. She was snooty and patronizing in it, but she's gone downhill since then, and hates him with a passion now.........
I was wondering the same thing. I thought he was a troll... bashing our President with his comments.
That was not my perception. IMOHO
Let's have Bush and Kerry bike it off.
It's my understanding while he was here in Austin as Gov. he'd occasional ride with Lance Armstrong. They'd meet at the trail off Mopac by the Colorado River (Town Lake). What would the libs say?
I didn't understand the point of the post and I'm American. ohioWfan's right, the /sarcasm tag would have been very helpful.
Thanks for the ping!
How did people ever understand irony before HTML tags were invented, I wonder.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.