Bush takes a swing at cricket

[kpete]

Bush takes a swing at cricket

Saturday, March 4, 2006; Posted: 9:14 a.m. EST (14:14 GMT)



ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) -- U.S. President George W. Bush, an avid baseball fan, on Saturday tried his hand at a sport hugely popular in parts of the old British empire -- cricket -- and was pronounced "not bad" for a first-timer.

Bush missed one ball and it hit him on the back.






http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/03/04/bush.cricke... /

I like this one too...
http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/rids/20060302...

[Earth_First]

1. Did he charge the mound after getting beaned?

[malaise]

2. Holy shite

it's soft ball cricket for Bush
Then the president was coached while batting at the wicket by Salman Butt, a member of Pakistan's cricket team, with Inzamam-ul-Haq, the team captain, nearby to also lend his expertise.

Edit.add note on captain

[im10ashus]

8. OMG!

SALMAN BUTT? You couldn't make this shit any funnier. We have to get this to the front page.

[malaise]

11. That's his real name

http://content-wi.cricinfo.com/inline/content/image/426...

[im10ashus]

12. His name belies his dashing good looks.

[malaise]

14. Click my first link

that's an even nicer photo.

[im10ashus]

15. Oh my!

Life is so unfair.

[tocqueville]

19. amazing

The president's first couple of hits went off to the side, but the Pakistani players were charitable.

"Not bad for a first time," one boy said.

But his last hit was better and the ball flew off into some trees. One ball hit him on the back.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/03/04/bush.cricke...

[rooboy]

3. Can't bowl, can't bat...

but not many people can who don't know the game. John Howard is a self-described "cricket tragic", and even he disgraced himself a couple of months ago by trying to bowl a ball at the annual Prime Minister's cricket match.

Bush's handlers should never have let him do this - nobody ever picks up bowling technique in one go, even more so if you're getting on in years. And this will piss off the Indians because he cancelledthe Taj Mahal visit, only to pop up playing cricket with their arch enemy! (India and Pakistan are fierce rivals in both politics AND cricket).

[malaise]

6. Did you see this?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,1719630,...

[rooboy]

24. That column was a bit of a shame...

because some of the wittiest writers in the world are cricket columnists. Yet another column that still seems to think that * has skill as a politician.

[malaise]

25. It wasn't a cricket writer

We'll see some of them later this week.

[malaise]

13. The soft ball cricket won't escape

writers in The Guardian.

[rooboy]

4. ...

[BuyingThyme]

5. ...

[im10ashus]

7. Good G_d that second picture.

And they don't believe in evolution?

[JohnyCanuck]

9. When Shrub is fielding,

does he take Silly mid-off or Silly mid-on?

[redherring]

10. Looks like that's a tennis ball

What a pansy. The ball they use for cricket is rock hard.

[Jim Warren]

16. look jess like his pappy

Image

[Glimmer of Hope]

17. More chimp:

[malaise]

20. That's Inzamam

the Pakistan captain to our right in the second photo.
He'd be called a pelter/thrower/chucker in a cricket game. That's illegal bowling.

Meanwhile Fidel says adios baseball; cricket here we come.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/20...

China already has her development plan
http://www.smh.com.au/news/cricket/howzat-in-a-quick-de...

In case you don't know already, the Caribbean will be hosting the cricket world cup next year - come on down.

sp.

[muriel_volestrangler]

22. I think his arm looks straight in the first photo

While the technique looks awful, I'd have thought it's legal - a straight, vertical arm. What's weird is he seems to have a second ball in his left hand - maybe they didn't want to throw him another one incase he dropped it?

[malaise]

23. It's not bad truly

but would someone, anyone blow up that face. He does have another tennis ball in his hand.

[Deja Q]

18. It's easier to go to a pet store, ask for a dozen, & then stomp on them...

Just like how he's doing to America.

[aden_nak]

21. See, we don't play emotionally dirty enough.

If a fella like Karl had photos like these of the "other guy", he'd find a way to get them plastered all over the place. Everywhere. On every news show and in every magazine. Why? Because they make him look goofy as hell. Not manly. Not suave. Not brave. And certainly not macho. And whether we like to admit it or not, there is a distinct voting block that has the uncontrolable urge to hike up their balls and spit before they do anything, lest the rest of the world question their mainly man-ness. We need to start intimidating that group by suggesting that the Republican isn't always the rough, tough macho man and the Democrat isn't always the pansy, cityboy wuss. And what's great about using images like these is that we don't have to say that outright. We don't have to draw that ugly line in the sand. We can do to them what they've always done to us.

1) Imply some ugly fact about a particular person or issue in a very obvious way.
2) Never actually state said ugly fact publicly.
3) Benefit from all of the perks of having it out there while avoiding the stigma of bringing it up.
4) Wait for the other side to defend against it or deny it.
5) Accuse the other side of bringing a new level of ugliness into the campaign.
6) Lean back and snicker.

[KingFlorez]

26. What a doofus

And people actually think it's safe for him to be in charge of keeping the country safe?