Midshipman "found himself squeezing the president in his powerful arms"

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060621101409990022

(June 21) -- Gabriel Whitney says he did not plan to nearly suffocate President Bush in a bear hug. In fact, he did not plan to hug him at all. But when Mr. Whitney, one of 202 midshipmen to graduate from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y., on Monday, stepped forward to receive his diploma, it just sort of happened. Call it irrational exuberance. But after six years of undergraduate school and 4,872 demerits, Mr. Whitney, 25, of Nashua, N.H., could hardly restrain himself.

With more reason than most to be overjoyed, the 6-foot-7 midshipman stepped onto the stage to accept his degree and hugged Vice Adm. Joseph D. Stewart, the academy's superintendent. Then he raised both arms in a victorious salute as his classmates roared their approval.

Elated and with his arms still upraised, he turned toward President Bush, who had just delivered the commencement address.

Mr. Bush, wearing a quizzical expression, responded by raising his arms as well and moved in for a hug. The midshipman — almost unwittingly — found himself squeezing the president in his powerful arms. When the president caught his breath, he shook Mr. Whitney's hand. "I said, 'You're the man! Thank you very much,' " Mr. Whitney said in a telephone interview yesterday.

:evilgrin:

"WTF? Over." (That is among the few things he learned in the military while he bothered to show up...)

a lot of guys seem to have for Bush? Was it that sweat-sock in the crotch of his flight suit on "Mission Accomplished" day... what??? I DO NOT GET IT.

I find him absolutely repugnant, but men LOVE this guy! (He even POLLS that way!)

TC

The sock made im even more repugnant ...... posseur.

or at least I thought so. It would be nice if we had proof, but maybe he just got his jockeys in a bunch with that harness thingie.

:puke:

Over and over and over again we're told how firm Bush is in his beliefs, how he's driven to do what he feels is right, blah blah blah blah blah.

He never apologizes (the recent vision-impaired, sunglasses-wearing reporter being a notable exception).

He talks in that fake Texas twang and says tough things that he never actually backs up like "Wanted...Dead or Alive" and "They can run, but they can't hide" and "We'll smoke them out of their caves."

I guess part of it is that this country, for reasons that I don't quite understand, NEVER got enough of Ronald Reagan.

We've witnessed Bush attempt to fill those shoes many, many times. It gets sad and pathetic and a little bit frightening when you realize that he not only has that Oedipal competitive thing going on with his father, but he also thinks he's a movie cowboy (who is afraid of horses and owns a fake ranch).

:silly:

:toast:

that W tends to engage.

4872/6 = 812/year

812/356 = 2.28/day

Ol' Gabriel Whitney was scoring, on average, 2.28 demerits every single day of the six years he was at the Academy.

How long before Bush puts him in his administration?

in uniform.

Msongs

can you sing?
www.msongs.com/vocalistwanted.htm

:puke:

He appears fearful, reluctant, and even irritated. (He had a similar facial expression when another grad hugged him at Annapolis, a few years back.) Bush puts his hands all over those he meets, even dignitaries, but his reactions when HE is touched show that this is a way of asserting dominance, on his part.

Contrast with the report, posted in another thread, of someone who met Bill Clinton recently. Clinton seemed perfectly at ease when ordinary people were touching him -- Joe Klein described how when he's tired, he looks for someone to lean against, getting energy from that.

who plans to serve their country and most likely won't go AWOL.