Muhammad Ali KOs President Bush
Yesterday President Bush presented Medals of Freedom to 14 people, including Muhammad Ali. After Bush put the medal around Ali's neck, he put up his dukes in a mock challenge. Ali looked Bush in the eye and, instead of putting up his dukes, put his finger to his head and did the "crazy twirl."
The room of 200 guests tittered with laughter. After Ali was escorted back to his chair, he made the twirl again. Bush, visibly taken aback, laughed nervously.
Was Ali making a political statement? In Bush's remarks about Ali, he mentioned the Olympic gold medal, the grit, "the Ali shuffle, the lightning jabs...the sheer guts and determination he brought to every fight." He did not, however, mention Ali's very public opposition to the Vietnam War and refusal to serve in the Army, which led to his losing his boxing license for three years.
Or was Ali simply doing what he's used to doing - psyching out the challenger?
Whichever. It worked.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/09/AR2005110901738.html?referrer=email&referrer=email
posted by Editor at Large at 9:19 AM
4 Comments:
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Ain't nobody hits like Muhammed Ali.
Gawd, I miss watching him fight. He was simply brilliant. Pretty darn entertaining too.
One other factor that I think you missed on this story is the fact that Ali is a Muslim and has had a... ringside seat (pun intended) for all of the Muslim bashing that came from Bush's domestic core supporters ever since 9/11 and continuing on even today. Ali is nobody's fool. He understands perfectly that the distinction between Bush's more politik statements and the demagoguery coming from his supporters is more artificial than substantive.
I think because of Ali's disability, people think of him as a bit of an addled simpleton anymore. His physical difficulties are a mask; by all accounts he is still as sharp as a tack and not a bit different on the inside.
You better believe Ali was making a point...and knew he could get away with it!
Good points, Kevin and Torrid. It's heartening to think that Ali was, in fact, taking a "left jab" at Bush.
With the both the war and the Hurricane Katrina fiasco weighing heavily on Afican-American minds, Bush & Co. would watch themselves if they had a clue at all. I doubt he even realizes how rare a Condi is.
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