The Accidental Administration

Who knew there was even going to be a report on Bush’s bike accident in Scotland last year when he crashed into a Scottish police constable while cycling in the grounds of Gleneagles Hotel? I certainly didn’t. Pam, who gets the hat tip, notes:

The Scotsman reports that the facts were kept under wraps for "fear of embarrassing Bush" by the local police. When you read [the facts], it's obvious why.

Indeed. Because the conclusion is basically that Bush is an uncoordinated doofus who can’t write a bike, wave, and talk at the same time.

The official police incident report states: "[The unit] was requested to cover the road junction on the Auchterarder to Braco Road as the President of the USA, George Bush, was cycling through." The report goes on: "[At] about 1800 hours the President approached the junction at speed on the bicycle. The road was damp at the time. As the President passed the junction at speed he raised his left arm from the handlebars to wave to the police officers present while shouting 'thanks, you guys, for coming'.

"As he did this he lost control of the cycle, falling to the ground, causing both himself and his bicycle to strike [the officer] on the lower legs. [The officer] fell to the ground, striking his head. The President continued along the ground for approximately five metres, causing himself a number of abrasions. The officers... then assisted both injured parties."

At the time, it was all chalked up to “slick roads,” and the police officer he hit was described as having suffered a "very minor" ankle injury. But, curiously, the Scotsman article notes that the officer was out of commission for 14 weeks.

John Scott, a human rights lawyer, said: "There's certainly enough in this account for a charge of careless driving. Anyone else would have been warned for dangerous driving.

"I have had clients who have been charged with assaulting a police officer for less than this. The issue of how long the police officer was out of action for is also important. He was away from work for 14 weeks, and that would normally be very significant in a case like this."

Hmm…minimizing the injuries of someone accidentally hurt by a member of the administration, dubious acknowledgement of personal accountability at the time of the accident, and evasion of charges that would certainly have been brought against anyone else. Am I the only one reminded of a more recent accidental injury at the hands of an administration member?

Yeah, I know this isn’t exactly taking us to war on trumped-up intelligence or spying without a warrant or even pursuing tax cuts that hurt a lot of Americans. But in some way, I feel that these incidents speak more clearly to the character of the men who are running our country than some of their major policy failures. If we want to know why they stay on vacation while poor black people drown or don’t hesitate to out a covert CIA operative in a game of political retribution, it’s not because they’re conservatives; it’s because they’re men who view themselves and their lives as more important than others’, and because they believe they’re above the law.