I had a half hour with Bush in the Oval Office. It was a small group of 10 other people, including the key Senator, and head of DOE & PCAST, and the late Smalley (the Nobel Laureate who discovered buckyballs)… I was clearly the odd man out!

We got to talk about the nano bill, and Bush showed us his Texas paintings, and new appointments around the office. The central rug was designed by Laura Bush, with the American Eagle facing the olive branch of peace and away from the arrows of war. Noted without comment.

When asked about the classic painting of George Washington facing his desk, he blurted “Well, that’s the original George W!”

Then we posed behind Bush as he sat at his desk and signed the bill. As you can see in this photo, I could have given him a wedgie. Opportunity lost as the flashes fired from the flurry of press photographers.

27 responses to “Oval Office”

  1. Vanita Avatar
    Vanita

    "I could have given him a wedgie."

    It’s nice that you sufficed with a hand shake later. ;-} What a cool experience. I thought his quip about the orginal George W was funny.

    Now let’s see a pic of you and Esther Dyson! I’m enjoying a vicarious thrill through all the interesting people you meet.

    Reply
  2. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Are you clairvoyant?!?

    I am looking at Esther as I type this…. and a few hours ago, she took some photos of me and my core memory board collection! And she has already uploaded it.

    Reply
  3. Vanita Avatar
    Vanita

    … well … that is just weird.

    "Are you clairvoyant?!?"
    Only the times I am right about something.

    Cripes! That’s wild!

    I have found Ms.Dyson interesting since my husband filled me in on her interesting life. He, my husband, went through an intense phase of reading about her father’s work. Then he caught me up on her own work, and I like BIG picture people! I pulled her name out of my head just because *I* would like to meet her.

    wild.

    Reply
  4. Vanita Avatar
    Vanita

    If you are still looking at her, for goodness sake, tell her I say hi.

    Reply
  5. Esthr Avatar
    Esthr

    He’s not, but I’ll say hi directly! I love these coincidences…

    Esthr

    Reply
  6. Vanita Avatar
    Vanita

    Hi back at ya! Here, I brought you, your favorite cocktail. This odd coincidence reminds me of a newspaper article we had on our fridge forever. The story was about a woman walking through a shopping mall. She passed a public phone that was ringing. Compelled by something, she picked it up. On the line was her yardman, calling *her* to tell her something about her yard. She looked at the number on the phone and it was only a digit off from her own phone number. She said her hair stood on end. She contacted a mathematician to inquire about the odds of all those circumstances aligning, and they were astronomical.

    Here’s to an amazingly lovely string of circumstances.

    Reply
  7. *ivo* Avatar
    *ivo*

    Can I just say how curious this section of photos is called "People and animals". So you are the "people" in this picture. That would leave the other guy as the animal right?

    (I love me some bushbashing. Can’t help it!)

    😀

    Reply
  8. Drew__ Avatar
    Drew__

    A man of such intelligence.. During that meeting i would of been so driven to challenge him to a game of tic tac toe (after the signing though)

    Reply
  9. SparkyLeigh Avatar
    SparkyLeigh

    I hope your business deals succeed, but I would not shake this mans hand if my life depended on it~

    Reply
  10. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Avatar, et. al.: When addressing the group, his first sentence was a triple negative…..

    In the Oval

    Reply
  11. Drew__ Avatar
    Drew__

    Really??

    Did he have an adviser to tell him which end of a pencil he had to use?

    Reply
  12. ZenOptic Avatar
    ZenOptic

    Buckminsterfullerenes, You do travel in interesting circles.

    Reply
  13. Sam Scholes Avatar
    Sam Scholes

    You should have give him a wedgie. That would be been a moment to remember.

    Reply
  14. TKnoxB Avatar
    TKnoxB

    I always wondered what it would be like to shake hands with the devil…screw the wedgie you should have gone for the kick to the groin.

    Reply
  15. JessiQua Avatar
    JessiQua

    Argh, don’t get me started on this "man." Love the dialogue above, though. Good for some laughs.

    Reply
  16. crazylegs2000_uk Avatar
    crazylegs2000_uk

    Let’s not forget this:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajfranklin/53458750/

    Reply
  17. Mr Geoff Avatar
    Mr Geoff

    A man not unlike no other.

    Reply
  18. J Mark Dodds [a shadow of my future self] Avatar
    J Mark Dodds [a shadow of my future self]

    He has his own wedgie the size of Cuba all the time

    Reply
  19. J Mark Dodds [a shadow of my future self] Avatar
    J Mark Dodds [a shadow of my future self]

    between his ears

    Reply
  20. J Mark Dodds [a shadow of my future self] Avatar
    J Mark Dodds [a shadow of my future self]

    a punch on the nose

    real hard

    uncompromising

    blood

    and an even more dazed stupid expression

    then people might vote for him again

    Reply
  21. J Mark Dodds [a shadow of my future self] Avatar
    J Mark Dodds [a shadow of my future self]

    I mean the classroom bully when I was fourteen

    Jeesh I got carried away then sorry. Not used to these kind of outbursts. Clench fist…

    Reply
  22. nsyll Avatar
    nsyll

    Is he so idiot us the say ?

    Reply
  23. Mr_Kat Avatar
    Mr_Kat

    "Is he so idiot us they say?"

    priceless dude.

    Reply
  24. hortulus Avatar
    hortulus

    Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Men together, and we’d love to have this added to the group!

    Reply
  25. solerena Avatar
    solerena

    interesting discussion about coincidences here:D

    my favorite moment in Bush’s career was when he finally went to a helicopter and said "good-bye"… i even had one tear in my eye… not exactly:D

    Reply
  26. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    The cheers when Bush’s helicopter lifted off were deafening. It was a surround-sound of exultation.

    During the inauguration ceremony, Bush and Cheney looked like they came right from central casting for some Hollywood villians:

    Bush Cheney

    Reply
  27. solerena Avatar
    solerena

    Very funny, the most surreal thing is politics:D oh, and here is one prove!

    if you look at the pictures of Brezhnev hugging and kissing other leaders – they are hilarious! it was not perceived as such at a time…

    [http://www.flickr.com/photos/chicagogeek/4526415430/]

    Reply

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