I'm Not Saying He Doesn't Have Them, Mind You...

The brouhaha over G.W. Bush's latest exhibition of 'cowboyism' brings to mind the following anecdote plucked not so long ago from the Internet grapevine:

When an aircraft approaches the carrier for landing the pilot is supposed to line up some brightly-lit balls in a display off to the side of the landing deck. As Navy One was on final approach for trap aboard the Abraham Lincoln last May 1st, Bush is said to have keyed the mic and said, 'Lincoln, Navy One, 12,500 lbs, I have the balls.'

Which brought down the house aboard the aircraft carrier, we are told — or certainly would have if any such thing had actually happened, which it didn't.