Ford CEO saves Bush's life

The Original Nex · Post by **The Original Nex** » 2007-04-08 12:31pm

The Detroit News wrote:Plug it in, fire it up, Mr. President

The Detroit News

Credit Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally with saving the leader of the free world from self-immolation.

Mulally told journalists at the New York auto show that he intervened to prevent President Bush from plugging an electrical cord into the hydrogen tank of Ford's hydrogen-electric plug-in hybrid at the White House last week. Ford wanted to give the Commander-in-Chief an actual demonstration of the innovative vehicle, so the automaker arranged for an electrical outlet to be installed on the South Lawn and ran a charging cord to the hybrid. However, as Mulally followed Bush out to the car, he noticed someone had left the cord lying at the rear of the vehicle, near the fuel tank.

"I just thought, 'Oh my goodness!' So, I started walking faster, and the President walked faster and he got to the cord before I did. I violated all the protocols. I touched the President. I grabbed his arm and I moved him up to the front," Mulally said. "I wanted the president to make sure he plugged into the electricity, not into the hydrogen This is all off the record, right?"

Contributors: Bryce G. Hoffman and Louis Aguilar

Aaaand Bush nearly dies again, not out of some horrible terrorist conspiracy, but through his own stupidity. This is up there with the pretzel incident methinks.

"This is all off the record, right?"

Shroom Man 777 · Post by **Shroom Man 777** » 2007-04-08 12:58pm

My god. Wong was right, you Americans DID elect Homer Simpson!

Mr. T · Post by **Mr. T** » 2007-04-08 01:58pm

Does a hydrogen tank have the same looking electrical outlet as a regular electrical outlet though?

If it does I can see how people could make that mistake, although had I been in his position I wouldn't try doing anything myself.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2007-04-08 01:59pm

"I violated all the protocols. I touched the President."

He makes it sound like he dared to touch a king or something.

Molyneux · Post by **Molyneux** » 2007-04-08 02:15pm

Uraniun235 wrote:
"I violated all the protocols. I touched the President."
He makes it sound like he dared to touch a king or something.

Given how paranoid the Secret Service reputedly is, I'm surprised they didn't tackle and cuff him, Ford CEO or no.

SCRawl · Post by **SCRawl** » 2007-04-08 02:15pm

Uraniun235 wrote:
"I violated all the protocols. I touched the President."
He makes it sound like he dared to touch a king or something.

I've heard that it's a federal offence to touch the president. Can anyone verify?

Glocksman · Post by **Glocksman** » 2007-04-08 02:19pm

Uraniun235 wrote:
"I violated all the protocols. I touched the President."
He makes it sound like he dared to touch a king or something.

Making a sudden grab at the President with the Secret Service watching your every move isn't exactly a good idea.

Does a hydrogen tank have the same looking electrical outlet as a regular electrical outlet though?

I'd hope not, but if it does, it's very poor safety engineering on Ford's part and if that kind of design ever made it to mass production, the resulting lawsuits from the inevitable explosions would probably bankrupt the company.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2007-04-08 02:48pm

SCRawl wrote:
Uraniun235 wrote:
"I violated all the protocols. I touched the President."
He makes it sound like he dared to touch a king or something.
I've heard that it's a federal offence to touch the president. Can anyone verify?

It is against the law to threaten, harm, or attempt to harm the President, even if the President is unaware of that. It is not, however, against the law to touch him.

If it were, the lines to shake his hand wouldn't be so long.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2007-04-08 02:50pm

So if this didn't happen as stated, and the Prez blew himself up, would the Secret Service cover-up the incident as an attack, or actually say "The President killed himself through gross stupidity and poor American auto-design"?

SCRawl · Post by **SCRawl** » 2007-04-08 03:04pm

CaptainChewbacca wrote:
SCRawl wrote:
Uraniun235 wrote: He makes it sound like he dared to touch a king or something.
I've heard that it's a federal offence to touch the president. Can anyone verify?
It is against the law to threaten, harm, or attempt to harm the President, even if the President is unaware of that. It is not, however, against the law to touch him.

If it were, the lines to shake his hand wouldn't be so long.

I was thinking more along the lines of touching the president without his consent, but I will gladly yield my ground. I think I must have picked up that particular brain bug from watching "The West Wing".

Fingolfin_Noldor · Post by **Fingolfin_Noldor** » 2007-04-08 03:13pm

Much as I hate Bush, the idea of Cheney up high up there isn't too enticing.

SCRawl · Post by **SCRawl** » 2007-04-08 03:40pm

Fingolfin_Noldor wrote:Much as I hate Bush, the idea of Cheney up high up there isn't too enticing.

In the link photo, isn't that Cheney over Bush's shoulder? If so...well, you can insert your own "Kill two x with one hydrogen-powered vehicle" joke.

Drooling Iguana · Post by **Drooling Iguana** » 2007-04-08 03:49pm

Shroom Man 777 wrote:My god. Wong was right, you Americans DID elect Homer Simpson! :lol:

No. Homer Simpson is lovably stupid. Bush is just stupid.

Flagg · Post by **Flagg** » 2007-04-08 05:08pm

One more reason not to buy a Ford...

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2007-04-08 07:30pm

Uraniun235 wrote:
"I violated all the protocols. I touched the President."
He makes it sound like he dared to touch a king or something.

If a king is a hereditary monarch that rules through divine providence, it would be hairsplitting to claim that Bush is not a king.

Sometimes, you need to just let nature take its course.

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2007-04-08 10:21pm

The Original Nex wrote:Aaaand Bush nearly dies again, not out of some horrible terrorist conspiracy, but through his own stupidity. This is up there with the pretzel incident methinks.

Keep in mind that this is the man who managed to somehow have a (dry) drunk-driving accident on a two-wheeled scooter a few years ago.

Death from the Sea · Post by **Death from the Sea** » 2007-04-08 10:29pm

SCRawl wrote:I was thinking more along the lines of touching the president without his consent, but I will gladly yield my ground. I think I must have picked up that particular brain bug from watching "The West Wing".

well the law states that any unwanted physical contact is assault, so yeah it could be considered that. Granted that is just a class C misdemeanor (like a traffic ticket) and not a felony.... or at least here in Texas anyway it is.

CmdrWilkens · Post by **CmdrWilkens** » 2007-04-09 10:35pm

He would be correct that it is a violation of protocol which obviously has no force of law but generally speaking you don't go around putting hands on the President unbidden.

Ma Deuce · Post by **Ma Deuce** » 2007-04-11 10:33pm

Now Mulally has said that his "intervention" was a practical joke and that there was no real danger, and he has now apologized:

Reuters wrote:Ford CEO apologizes after joke on Bush blows up
Wed Apr 11, 2007 3:17pm ET

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Alan Mulally is no longer laughing about his suggestion that he saved President Bush's life during a recent White House visit.

The No. 2 U.S. automaker on Tuesday apologized after Mulally said his claim of intervening to prevent U.S. President George W. Bush from plugging an electrical cord into the hydrogen tank of an experimental Ford vehicle had been meant as a joke.

Ford said Mulally never expected the story he told journalists in New York last week would be taken seriously.

The CEO found himself in an embarrassing situation when the story was featured on blogs and even in mainstream media like the Financial Times, which said "he may have saved the incumbent of the Oval Office from blowing himself up."

Recounting the meeting at the White House on March 28, Mulally said he noticed the president appeared to be ready to plug the power cord into the wrong outlet of a rechargeable vehicle that also runs on hydrogen.

"I violated all protocols. I grabbed his arm and I moved him up to the front," Mulally told reporters last Wednesday.

"I wanted to make sure he plugged into the electricity, not into the hydrogen," he said to roars of laughter from the media, before adding: "This is all off the record, right?"

Ford said Mulally's anecdote had been inspired by a video spoof featured on ABC-TV's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" talk show that suggested Bush blew himself up by plugging the cord in the wrong outlet.

"I tried to tell a joke about it and proved I am no Jimmy Kimmel," Mulally said in a statement that was released to Reuters on Wednesday. "It never occurred to me that it would get such wide play or be taken seriously."

Ford spokesman Tom Hoyt said Mulally thought Kimmel's joke was funny and showed it to several Ford officials before his remarks to reporters.

"He just meant it as a joke. He kind of embellished the whole thing," Hoyt said. "There was no danger whatsoever."

Bush irritated U.S. automakers and allies last year when he said they should build more relevant products. He has been reaching out to them this year and promoting alternative fuel technologies as part of a plan to reduce gasoline consumption by 20 percent.

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2007-04-11 10:52pm

Hmm... Don't think we've had a corporate CEO ever put on the terrorism watch lists before.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2007-04-11 11:49pm

SCRawl wrote:I was thinking more along the lines of touching the president without his consent, but I will gladly yield my ground. I think I must have picked up that particular brain bug from watching "The West Wing".

That particular line from West Wing was delivered in jest from a humerous, cranky, and just-awoken president Bartlett.

Haminal10 · Post by **Haminal10** » 2007-04-12 04:10pm

I think that the "This is off the record right?" line tipped me off that something that up. It seemed a little bit surreal.

ThatGuyFromThatPlace · Post by **ThatGuyFromThatPlace** » 2007-04-13 02:25pm

If that's the only part you found out of line with reality, maybe you should go take a look at some information on hydrogen powered vehicles. Plugging a power cord into the hydrogen tank is laughably implausible on it's own, And even if possible in the particular model in question through some fluke of engineering, You still probably wouldn't get an ignition, or do many of your extension cords arc after you plug them into the outlet?

AS volatile as hydrogen can be, The car would almost have to be designed intentionally to explode when an electrical cord is plugged into the hydrogen tank for that to even happen.

The Original Nex · Post by **The Original Nex** » 2007-04-13 03:47pm

What Ford staffer said; "Hey I've got great idea, let's make the president look like a total moron and then tell the press that his life was in danger." What a stupid idea. Even more stupid that the CEO thought it was worth carrying out!

Enforcer Talen · Post by **Enforcer Talen** » 2007-04-13 05:08pm

Prolly was the CEO. Then, no one could say "Sir? This might be a bad idea. . ."