They came to a race, not a photo op

[bamademo]

Fantastic!


They Came to See a Race, Not a Photo-Op
By DOUG THOMPSON
Feb 16, 2004, 07:07
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DAYTONA, FL – Some 200,000 NASCAR fans looked up with a mixture of amazement, surprise and yawns as Air Force One swooped low over Daytona International Speedway Sunday, circling for a few ceremonial passes before landing at the airport behind the race track.
“Must be an election year,” muttered 29-year-old Kevin Henderson of Charlotte, NC.

Yes, it is an election year and George W. Bush is in trouble, so he dropped in on the Daytona 500, tying up air traffic in and around Florida for most of Sunday afternoon, claiming his “experience” flying fighters with the Texas Air National Guard qualified him as a speed freak but declined an offer in a NASCAR race car because “the (Secret Service) agents wouldn’t let me.”

George W. Bush, the photo op President, on the campaign trail, seeking the support of 75 million NASCAR fans.

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_4066.shtml

[DeepModem Mom]

1. Great article! And what a loser, GW Bush --

[madmom]

2. Airforce One flyover

was this legal? according to the patriot act no air traffic over public events.

[diamond14]

3. 75 Million NASCAR fans....that's a gross exageration...

there are maybe 290 people in the United States...and a lot of those people are CHILDREN and OLD PEOPLE....


about 12 % of those people are Black...

51% of those people are women...



if you go with the generally accepted premise that NASCAR fans are white males...

so....are there REALLY 75 MILLION NASCAR fans...or are these white males just puffing out like peacocks all over the newspapers and TV????

[zbdent]

4. I'm a white male - but I probably couldn't pick out

Jeff Gordon in a lineup unless he was the only one wearing the race outfit.

[Elwood P Dowd]

6. Some of people keep passing judgment

on a subject they know very little about.

40% of the NASCAR fans are female. Yes, there are close to 75 million total fans. A marketing survey I read back in the 90s had it at 50 million then, and that was before the new Fox/NBC TV package. No, it's not just a male, southern, redneck, sport. More drivers come from the north and west (California) than from the south. The fan base is now greater outside the south. I know doctors, lawyers, and even college professors that follow NASCAR. The sport has changed dramatically the past 20 years. There are still plenty of Bubbas following the sport, but not like it was back in the 80s. Hell, there are several NASCAR fans that post here.

[zbdent]

5. Well, according to Bush's advisors, the same ones who gave him

the budget numbers for his presentation to the voting public, along with the original estimates on how many jobs the tax cuts would create, estimate that all 75 million NASCAR fans were in attendance.