“I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong”

November 10, 2005

Bush, who appeared almost playful, fastened the heavy medal around Muhammad Ali’s neck and whispered something in the heavyweight champion’s ear. Then, as if to say "bring it on," the president put up his dukes in a mock challenge. Ali, 63, who has Parkinson’s disease and moves slowly, looked the president in the eye — and, finger to head, did the "crazy" twirl for a couple of seconds.
At the White House, Prizes for 14 Champs

—

Keep asking me, no matter how long
On the war in Viet Nam, I sing this song
I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong

Muhammad Ali

Posted by b on November 10, 2005 at 17:37 UTC | Permalink

Comments

He’s probably thinking – “I’ll clean your clock you cracker”

Posted by: Thor Heyerdahl | Nov 10 2005 18:00 utc | 1

Woulda made my year if Ali had just fucking clocked the moron.

Posted by: ran | Nov 10 2005 18:13 utc | 2

I think he did.

Posted by: citizen | Nov 10 2005 18:19 utc | 3

the greatest meets the basest
i too would have been delighted if he had cleaned his clock
i don’t think sonny liston would have thought twice

Posted by: r’giap | Nov 10 2005 18:24 utc | 4

Stings like a bee. Now bring on the whole hive.

Posted by: Tantalus | Nov 10 2005 19:48 utc | 5

Dubya pretty much showed the world once again the narrow frame of judgement and prejudice he’s coming from. The fact that Rove and co let Ali anywhere near Dubya tells us that they really have no insight into the human condition whatsoever.
Where the rest of the world sees a hero; a man who made his mark as an individual while showing he cared about the community he came from, BushCo saw a punchy pug.
They would have debated it and said “Nah He can’t talk too much anymore. The networks won’t want to make the sheeple feel uncomfortable by having them listen to his slurring”.
They may have got away with it if Dubya’s hubris hadn’t once again got him embellishing the script.
Ali has often shown that he is prepared to put up with a bit of a dog and pony show as long as there isn’t any maliciousness or attempt at humiliation.
When the moron shaped up to him Ali’s response was spot on. He didn’t consider giving the fool the honor of letting Bush think he was a credible opponent. Hence the ‘loopy loop’.
In another universe this man Muhammed Ali would be the one that Amerikans would be picking as their leader not some petulant, spoiled suckhole.

Posted by: Debs is dead | Nov 10 2005 20:04 utc | 6

Oh, if only Ali could could have delivered the PUNCH line without metaphore, the pretender would have found himself in the real world (& on his back).
(W)hat a (W)orm.

Posted by: anna missed | Nov 10 2005 20:29 utc | 7

He’s probably thinking – “I’ll clean your clock you cracker
[ed not: commercial spam link deleted]

Posted by: gui | Nov 10 2005 21:15 utc | 8

I’m afraid Dumbya’s already been stung by a few too many “b”s in his lifetime.
Beer, bourbon, brandy…

Posted by: Anonymous | Nov 10 2005 21:59 utc | 9

A good dvd documentary on Muhammad is Muhammad Ali The Greatest by William Klein, the photographer. Klein started filming Ali while he still was Clay. There is a part showing Ali hamming it up with the Beatles during that Band’s first U.S. tour. Klein shows that Ali escpaed from much that Bush stands for. While Bush successfully ducked serving in the Vietnam war, Ali was prosecuted for objecting to what he called a racist war. For a film version of American history in the 60s and 70s, this works.

Posted by: christofay | Nov 11 2005 2:22 utc | 10

This event shows how desperate Bush is to resusitate his image. Blacks wont buy it, perhaps Soccer Moms will. Beware, anytime Bush honors a Black person, he is usually fucking all the other Blacks with some executive order or something–like what he is doing about Katrina.

Posted by: Malooga | Nov 11 2005 3:08 utc | 11

As with the Condi Rice vs Hillary stories that were on the drudgereport recently. As if a black woman has a chance to win the GOP primary. It’s manufactured news that Blacks have a place in the GOP’s heart beyond being sycophants.

Posted by: christofay | Nov 11 2005 3:13 utc | 12

All stories about who is “hot” to be on a political ticket at this stage of the game are manufactured news.
Remember, the MSM is only allowed to cover elections in five ways:
1) As a race: He’s coming on strong on the outer curve.
2) As celebrity gossip: Look at her hairdo!
3) As theatre: He was sweating a little too much and didn’t give a convincing performance.
4) As character assasination and lies: He actually claimed to have invented the internet.
5) As slice and dice dissecting of irrelevant differences: He says that he supports a cap of $100K, but she supports a cap of 87K.
Under no circumstances discuss issues that real people are concerned about but the ruling parties have agreed to keep off the table: Raising the cap on SS contributions for the wealthy, national healthcare, worker security, saving family farmers, etc.

Posted by: Malooga | Nov 11 2005 3:27 utc | 13

I would say the news-prop about Rice running in 2008 isn’t horse race news but just today’s manufactured news to rebut the view that Bush doesn’t care about Black Americans.
I do agree that pensions, national healthcare, worker security, are the real things to be working on. No one’s touching that stuff.

Posted by: christofay | Nov 11 2005 4:16 utc | 14

Not to mention sustainability and limits to growth, said the one not following the pied piper of progress.

Posted by: Malooga | Nov 11 2005 4:40 utc | 15

Not enough, never, will enough Americans be willing to put on the sackcloth of limits to growth so that has to be dressed in different material, alternative energy sources. Less driving is obvious but that runs into the age of limits again. That question has to be studied in a optimistic light as finding something new. In Massachusetts there’s opposition to a windmill farm off the coast of Cape Cod. Some people doubt whether the efficiencies estimated would be reached. Some people oppose it as interrupting bird flyways. That’s the reason given. What people really don’t like is losing the aesthetics of the view.

Posted by: christofay | Nov 11 2005 7:46 utc | 16

I know, I’m from Mass. It’s a rich man’s NIMBY. Both our “liberal” Senators–Kennedy&Kerry–are against it.
The population of this country has doubled since I was born. Resource consumption is up 4-8X. Can’t continue much longer. The longer it continues, themore shrinkage will be needed for a modicum of sustainability.

Posted by: Malooga | Nov 11 2005 12:12 utc | 17

the great & gifted man ali beofre bush
it is again as if einstein was being congratulated by an ape & bush gives apes a bad name

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Nov 11 2005 17:19 utc | 18

Just goes to show….you can fool some of the people most of the time, and you can fool a few more on Diebold day.
But you can’t fool an old punch drunk guy with Parkinson’s any of the time who has truth in his heart, anytime.
.

Posted by: RossK | Nov 11 2005 21:07 utc | 19

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