Recently our decider-in-chief visited the nearby community of Peoria to pay his respects to the Caterpillar plant there. During his visit, he got to drive a Caterpillar D-10, which if you have never seen one, is a thoroughly awesome machine. On the evening news, we saw pictures of him giving a thumbs-up from the cab, but no footage the machine actually in motion with the president in charge. I wondered why, since that would be pretty neat footage.
The local TV station filming the event may not have exactly been thinking about getting good footage at the time:
Does President Bush have it in for the press corps? Touring a Caterpillar factory in Peoria, Ill., the Commander in Chief got behind the wheel of a giant tractor and played chicken with a few wayward reporters. Wearing a pair of stylish safety glasses—at least more stylish than most safety glasses—Bush got a mini-tour of the factory before delivering remarks on the economy. “I would suggest moving back,” Bush said as he climbed into the cab of a massive D-10 tractor. “I’m about to crank this sucker up.”
As the engine roared to life, White House staffers tried to steer the press corps to safety, but when the tractor lurched forward, they too were forced to scramble for safety.“Get out of the way!” a news photographer yelled. “I think he might run us over!” said another. White House aides tried to herd the reporters the right way without getting run over themselves. Even the Secret Service got involved, as one agent began yelling at reporters to get clear of the tractor.
Watching the chaos below, Bush looked out the tractor’s window and laughed, steering the massive machine into the spot where most of the press corps had been positioned. The episode lasted about a minute, and Bush was still laughing when he pulled to a stop. He gave reporters a thumbs-up. “If you’ve never driven a D-10, it’s the coolest experience,” Bush said afterward.
Yeah, almost as much fun as seeing your life flash before your eyes.
Newsweek Blogs, Holly Bailey: I Have Had My Differences With Members of the Press. But it’s Nothing That Burying them Under Tons of Earth Won’t Solve”
That’s just like the liberal press! “stylish safety glasses—at least more stylish than most safety glasses” indeed! Have you been to Farm And Fleet lately, miss prissy journalist? I bet not. Safety glasses come in some pretty cool styles now. Most of them even have UV protection, so there.
By the way, I got to drive a D-3 once, and it was a cool experience. I can only imagine what it would be like to drive a D-10. Way to go, Mister President!
never operated a 10 but have a 6 and a 9..awesome amount of power
Oh what a missed opportunity! I can just hear the Secretary now: “That rogue reporter was warned repeatedly to move out of the way. This was obviously an assassination attempt. The President acted in self-defense.”
Maybe the presidential limo could be a D-10!
Air Force One should just be able to lift it.
Hey, Husband, we posted about the same article!
Bush was there
“Have you been to Farm And Fleet lately, miss prissy journalist? I bet not.” – I bet not too, and that pretty much sums up a lot of the problems with journalism today.
Come on, did anyone seriously expect Bush could handle the D10 though. He can’t even eat a pretzel, pet a horse, ride a bicycle, or drive a segway without screwing up.
Oh come on web, he’s your president too. ROFLMAO
Yea but can’t I just say I didn’t vote for him… does that get me off the hook?
To put it in a different frame (without considering that it’s the head of the incompetocracy that is the Bush White House), picture this scenario:
You’re a member of the press covering an event. A senior executive (whose job has never included using Earth-moving equipment and who is known as something of a pointy-haired boss) gets into a giant crawler and says; “You might want to get back, I’m gonna fire this thing up!”
Even with a qualified person at the controls, a moving D-10 would be something to keep your distance from. It weighs something like 175,000 pounds and could easily push even the largest military tank backwards. The operator can see into the distance but can’t see what’s directly in front of him. So what do you do?
Me, I’ll start putting some distance between myself and that machine while the boss is still climbing the ladder. The chances he’ll steer it safely don’t seem promising.
Funny, I had the same feeling when the boss in question took his oath of office. But there was noplace to get back to.
DOF, I know the “liberal press” toss-off was just that—a toss-off phrase, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, designed to get people going.
So the funniest part of this is that the myth of the “liberal press” was destroyed long ago.
Oh, and Webs, I’m with you. When Shrub shows he can uphold the constitution, enforce the laws and is not a cinch candidate for impeachment, then he’ll be “my” president. I ain’t holdin’ my breath!
I can say that I was able to drive a D-10! It rocked… but they didn’t let me move any earth
BTW: I voted for Xenu and the Flying Spaghetti Monster, so it’s not my fault…