Play Misty for Me
Even though President Bush declined to give beach volleyballer Misty May-Treanor’s butt a congratulatory slap in Beijing, the two still apparently bonded. In honoring the 2008 Olympians on the South Lawn Tuesday, the president reserved a special shout-out for May-Treanor, who had to miss the event after getting injured on “Dancing with the Stars.”
“God, if only she had me as a partner, you know?” asked Bush. “Except I can’t dance.”
Among the 400-plus Olympians and Paralympians on the scene were swimmer Larsen Jensen, whom the president pointed out gave Laura Bush a bouquet of flowers in Beijing; gymnasts Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson; softballer Jennie Finch and diver Laura Wilkinson.
Oh, and Baltimore’s own Michael Phelps. “People say, ‘Did you ever get to meet Michael Phelps?'” asked the president. “I said I did. So that was the highlight? I said, ‘Not really; meeting his mother was more of a highlight.’ She reminded me of my mother — plainspoken and full of love.”
Here, Michael Phelps and Shawn Johnson arrive in D.C.:
Photos: Gene Young
