# \[Hypothetical\] Newsflash: McCain slugs Bush

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-newsflash-mccain-slugs-bush/470384>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 31, 2008, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-newsflash-mccain-slugs-bush/470384 "2008-10-31T04:26:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![tofergregg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tofergregg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofergregg)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-newsflash-mccain-slugs-bush/470384/1 "2008-10-31T04:26:55Z")

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Okay, here’s a hypothetical (_very_ hypothetical). Let’s say that McCain doesn’t win next week, and he decides (probably rationally) that GWB played a big part in his loss. He calls up the Prez and asks for a meeting in the Oval office. Upon entering, he closes the door behind him, and proceeds to open up a can of whoop-ass on Dub (with his fists–no weapons).

Questions:

1. How long might it take for the secret service to burst through the door to get the President out of a headlock? Do they monitor private meetings in case someone goes ape shit on the President?

2. Would McCain be immediately hauled away in 'cuffs?

Now, turn the tables. Suppose McCain came in for a post-mortem and GWB was so upset that his legacy was now ruined because a Republican didn’t follow him in office, and _he_ started slugging McCain.

1. How does the secret service handle it now? What if the President ordered them to let him keep pummeling McCain?

2. Does the President get detained somehow? Obviously, impeachment might follow, but what happens immediately? I’d love to be in Secret Service school on the day they bring up the topic of what to do if the President legitimately goes crazy.

I know we’ve been through tangents to these questions before, but I just got to wondering about them in this context.

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**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-newsflash-mccain-slugs-bush/470384/2 "2008-10-31T04:34:29Z")

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How much of a beat down could McCain do if he can’t raise his arms?

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**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-newsflash-mccain-slugs-bush/470384/3 "2008-10-31T04:56:21Z")

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Since your thread title was likely to be confusing to a lot of people, I’ve changed it slightly to make it clearer.