WHAT'S A UPC?

Tipping Point: Why President Bush fell off a Segway in Kennebunkport (Eli Kintisch, 6.13.03, American Prospect)

Yesterday in Kennebunkport, Maine, President Bush managed to tip over a Segway while attempting to ride it -- despite the fact that the recently invented motorized scooters are equipped with tilt sensors and five high-tech gyroscopes, which are supposed to prevent them from tipping over. So how did Bush manage to nearly fall flat on his face? After seeing photos of the gaffe today, I tried to find out by speaking to a number of Segway enthusiasts.

The possibilities were numerous [...]

The "I series" Segway that the president was using was a gift from the Bush daughters to their father, Ferguson said. Earlier yesterday morning, Segway inventor Dean Kamen had delivered two Segways to Bush Senior and Barbara Bush at the compound. Luckily Kamen, among the world's most accomplished inventors, left before having to witness the most powerful man in the world fall off an idiot-proof invention.

In any event, it's now clear that Middle Eastern policy isn't the only area in which Bush can be unbalanced from time to time.

It's interesting to see certain sectors of the media try to turn this truly meaningless episode into a comment on the President's intelligence. The NY Times, predictably, ran a photo of him tipping over, while many others ran the one of him and his father riding them properly. It seems reminiscent of the bogus story about George H. W. Bush never having seen a UPC scanner.

MORE:
-Google News: Bush Segway Posted by Orrin Judd at June 13, 2003 9:17 PM