It's no secret that George Bush is a big fan of bicycling. Whether he's crashing into a constable in Scotland, avoiding air attacks in Patuxent, or touring his ranch in Crawford with Lance Armstrong ("See how there's no brush? That's cause I clear it.") George Bush loves to bike. In fact if you google "George Bush" bicycle or bike, you get over 700,000 hits. He loves cycling so much, he wears his jersey under his suit when he goes to church (what is he, 8 year's old?)
But is he good for cyclists?
It's kind of a dumb question since it's probably the 6000th most important issue the president faces, but this blog is myopic by design so let's look at it.
First of all, by riding his bike - and letting people see him do it often - he serves as an ad for cycling. Unfortunately he doesn't use it to commute, (but it's dangerous to ride a bike down stairs anyway). It's hard to measure if his cycling is having any impact since so many other issues are causing the boom in bicycle ownership (like Lance Armstrong, high gas prices, the changing mindset of transportation planners, this awesome blog, etc...). While I doubt it's having a Clark Gable undershirt effect, it probably has a slight positive impact - if only that people see that one can ride a bike into their 60s.
But what about policy? That's even harder to say. While some good bike-supporting laws have come out of Congress lately, that seems to have occurred without any input by Bush one way or the other. They really are due to the efforts of local congress members like Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.)
Bush missed a real opportunity to promote the hobby he so loves during his State of the Union address. When he mentioned America's "addiction to oil" he could have become the first President to mention bicycles in his State of the Union address since Teddy Roosevelt said,
Rural free [mail] delivery, taken in connection with the telephone, the bicycle, and the trolley, accomplishes much toward lessening the isolation of farm life and making it brighter and more attractive.
Gotta love Teddy.
He could also put his political capital where his butt is by making E Street south of the capital a little easier for a cyclist to get through. That's really a Secret Service decision, but I can't believe he has no influence.
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