I think it’s unlikely the President could ever sneak up on me what with the Secret Service being all around, so I would probably take the same approach as Giraffe (also sans boogers) and just try not to be in a position to be forced to make that decision. I might try the “fake being sick” approach and say I have a cold and don’t want to give him my germs. If somehow he were to sneak up on me and offer his hand, I’d probably shake it because I was raised to be polite and that is what you do when you first meet someone.
I think I would shake the hand of any head of state. Not go out of my way to do so in all cases, but if I’m there, I suppose it’s the polite thing to do, plus it makes a good story. “Is that your grandpa with Castro in this picutre?”
With GWB, I would be in camp B, and might even put some effort into it. (Putting on a tie, for example)
Well, it IS the polite thing to do, so i probably would choose option “E”, go for the crushing handshake and stern look of dissaproval, make it clear that I’m only doing it to be polite and out of respect for the institution of the Presidency
I would dodge/flee. If I somehow was trapped in the crowd, I’d have both hands clasped behind me and I’d nod a brief ‘hello’ and not smile at all. IMHO he has brought disrepute to the position and to his country so the only ‘disrespect’ would be of him, personally.
I don’t know if my self control is strong enough to resist spitting in his face. A possible few years in prison vs taking to my grave the memory of spitting in his face. Hard choice.
My feelings go well beyond political disagreement. He put my brother into a situation with a much too high risk of being killed, when apparently we had no real good reason to be there, and he’s shown hinself to be dishonest and immensely immune to criticism, which is another form of dishonesty.
Me: “I never even voted Democrat, but you’ve betrayed almost everything I ever stood for, and made a little ashamed to be considered a Republican. Please resign.”
I wouldn’t shake his hand. I sure wouldn’t let him near me with the media around, so he could show how he 's helping everybody in the current disaster.
I’ll take “D”. I’m an American and last I checked I don’t have to shake the hand of anyone I don’t want to, just as no one is required to shake mine. I don’t believe, first of all, that any particular President wants to shake my hand, specifically. In any scenario I can imagine, the only reason a President, any President, might ever walk up to a schlub like me and shake my hand would be to turn me into a political prop. Secondly, if my main motive, like some here seem to have said, is to be able to brag that I shook the hand of the President, well, I don’t give a rat’s ass about that. You folks go ahead if it’s important to you; leave me out.
Beyond that, my deep respect for the office of the President is precisely why I would never shake GWB’s hand, nor Nixon’s, for that matter. Of the other presidents that have held office since I’ve been alive, aside from those two, no problem.
Seriously? Are you that fixated on hating him that you think he’s going to pass something on to you? And yes, I see that someone said the same thing about Gore. I don’t get it. Is it some macho credential-proving thing? LIke thinking “Shrub” is clever?
By all means, don’t shake his hand. But for crying out loud, don’t shake your testicles at us, either.
It’s not a terribly popular opinion with the country at large, at this point.
It’s true, the board leans pretty hard to the left. However, there have been at least two posters to this thread who went with D who are conservatives: What Exit? and silenus. And silenus has aimed the most vitriol (along with other bodily fluids) at Bush so far.
However, that’s all the more reason to stick around, isn’t it? It’s easy enough to find boards that will just be an echo chamber for whatever opinions you already hold. Around here, your idea will actually be challenged, and you’ll have to fight for them. If you can take the heat, you’ll come out the other side stronger for it.
Plus, we really need more conservative voices here. A balanced board is an interesting board.
Could be. Or it could be that there’s something very wrong with the President. Speaking for myself, I reserve my respect for people, not offices or institutions. Being elected president does not make one worthy of respect. It’s what that person does once he’s in office that determines if I’d respect him or not.
Shit, I wouldn’t shake Clinton’s hand, and I voted for him twice. Who knows where that hand has been?
I am no fan of Bush and I would easily vote B. I truly believe that he is a decent man with some very bad ideas who is doing his best to serve his country. I think that is worth my respect.
I shook Dan Quayle’s hand once when I was a teenager, but he was just inoffensively retarded. Sadly, nothing about Bush is inoffensive to me.
I’d like to think that I’d shake his hand so as to draw him close enough to hear me say something like “Sir, you should be ashamed of yourself. How dare you call yourself an American.” But I’d probably just stay as far away from him as possible and leave the room at the first opportunity.
I imagine that, under the right circumstances,Dan Savage would be happy to shake George Bush’s hand.
As for me, I’m between B and C. I wouldn’t be honored to shake GWB’s hand, but if I do shake his hand, I’m not going to be a wuss about it. A shuffling, shifty-eyed “wish I weren’t there” handshake would only constitute a poor reflection on myself, and yes, bad manners.
But I would only extend the courtesy for the sake of the office, not the man.
D. I wouldn’t shake hands with him under any circumstances short of a gun at my head; if he stuck his hand out at me I’d look him up and down and say, “I don’t want to touch scum like you.”, then walk away. The only reason I wouldn’t spit at him is because the Secret Service would probably apply a billyclub to my head if I did. And because I don’t want to contaminate my spit with him. I utterly despise him, and regard him as my enemy, not just someone I disagree with.
And as an aside, I don’t believe the office of the Presidency or any other job deserves respect; only the person in it.
< claps > You got me too on that one.
< snickers > If you think that, a real left wing board ought to give you a heart attack. Or a migraine.
Even Stalin or Pol Pot or Hitler or Idi Amin or Mao ? There have been some pretty monstrous heads of state throughout history; people who make Bush look like a naughty child.
My work here is done.