CRAWFORD, Texas, Dec. 29, 2006

Bush Sheltered During Tornado Alert

President And First Lady Were Moved To Armored Vehicle On Their Ranch During Weather Alert

  • President Bush and first lady Laura Bush were moved to an armored vehicle on their ranch after a tornado warning was issued.

    President Bush and first lady Laura Bush were moved to an armored vehicle on their ranch after a tornado warning was issued.  (AP)

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(CBS/AP)  President Bush and first lady Laura Bush were moved to an armored vehicle on their ranch Friday when a tornado warning was issued in central Texas, the White House said.

The vehicle was driven to a tornado shelter on the ranch, and the president, Mrs. Bush and their two Scottish terriers sat inside until the weather cleared, deputy White House press secretary Scott Stanzel said.

The storm passed while they waited in their vehicle and the Bushes didn't have to enter the shelter, reports CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning at 2:34 p.m. CST after a severe thunderstorm with a history of producing tornadoes was reported 13 miles south of Clifton, Texas, and moving northeast. Clifton is 20 miles northwest of Crawford.

Stanzel said he did not know how long the Bushes and their dogs, Miss Beazley and Barney, had to stay in the vehicle, but that it was not "terribly long."

The rush to the tornado shelter interrupted Bush's day at the ranch where he cleared some cedar and was kept abreast of plans to execute Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

He received calls to wish him a happy new year from outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is visiting Miami, also called Bush to talk about Iraq.

Stanzel said Bush spent time on the rainy, windy day contemplating the new plan for U.S. policy in Iraq that he plans to announce in the new year. Bush hosted a National Security Council meeting at his ranch on Thursday.



© MMVI, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Add a Comment See all 43 Comments
by January 1, 2007 9:35 AM EST
Do they really think that an armored vehicle will protect you if a tornado were to hit you directly? It is think kind of thinking that leads to trouble. But then this is our government thinking again....
Reply to this comment
by randalds January 1, 2007 2:16 AM EST
I guess that when Rove told Bush to build this phony ranch in the country so he'd look more like "a man of the people" he forgot to mention that there are actually dangerous thing in the rural areas. Who knows what will happen when Bush finds out that there are also coyotes, mean jack-rabbits and scary spiders out there too!
Reply to this comment
by randalds January 1, 2007 1:39 AM EST
As usual the growth on her side's expression seems to be a combination of the painful would-be intelligent look and the old really gotta go look.

Posted by defirststate at 12:13 AM : Dec 31, 2006

That's the look he always gets whenever he actually tries to think. Unlike many other bodily functions this one does not come naturally to him so he always looks like he's straining the same way as when he trying to take a hard dump. To him both are equally as difficult and painful.
Reply to this comment
by lily_ayanami January 1, 2007 12:12 AM EST
I'm surprised that this hasn't happened before, considering it's in tornado alley.
Reply to this comment
by creeper00 December 31, 2006 6:49 PM EST
Being reminded of the strange odyssey of Air Force One on 9-ll put me in mind of OJ's Bronco. The instinct of cowards seems to be to flee.

It's too bad the president didn't keep going till he got to Paraguay.
Reply to this comment
by knyghtwolf December 31, 2006 4:09 PM EST
The tornado freaked him out because he finally ran into a bigger windstorm than himself. I agree, he needs to be brought up on charges by the world court, but do you think it will ever happen? He is going to either have to live with the title of our countrie's worst ever president or be put on trial and given the same sentence as Sadam Hussein. He is literally on the same path with Corporate America in the quest of destroying our world for their personal gain....I guess you need to ask yourself this ONE question? When is enough going to be enough?
Reply to this comment
by randalds December 31, 2006 6:33 AM EST
Remember the Public Service Ad with an egg frying to represent a person's brain on drugs, picture the ad and look at him. It all comes together.

Posted by defirststate at 12:13 AM : Dec 31, 2006

Amen bro. The two of them are the drugs, the eggs, the frying pan and the whole *** thing. Addiction to pharmaceuticals might be the only defense Bush and the wife have at their eventual trial.

BTW, why do right-wingers always assume we're kidding when we talk about Bush going to trial for his crimes when we are deadly (for him at least) serious? We are not. This is no joke. This has gone far beyond political differences. Far beyond the usual "Rah Rah Rah, my team won and yours lost" garbage of the usual elections and into the realm of out and out murder, that there is no turning back. Bush is a murderer and a war criminal. A growing majority of people want to see Bush pay for his crimes with prison time or worse.
Reply to this comment
by defirststate December 31, 2006 3:13 AM EST
The dogs are safe!


Look at Laura Bush in this picture is she on Morphine?
bluestardad

Wouldn't you be if you had to sleep with that?
RandalDS

I think she's on XANAX Randal
bildooreilly

Both Xanax and Morphine may be part of her pharmaceutical cocktail, but she might need anti-depressants in addition to the anxiety and pain medications. They must have hooked up during her drinking days, and his. He got the better bargain.

As usual the growth on her side's expression seems to be a combination of the painful would-be intelligent look and the old really gotta go look.

Remember the Public Service Ad with an egg frying to represent a person's brain on drugs, picture the ad and look at him. It all comes together.
Reply to this comment
by cantshutup December 31, 2006 3:03 AM EST
g bush makes me feel very angry, scared and ashamed...

living in bushies world is similar to what a tormented child feels when he wishes his tormentor would just disappear...
Reply to this comment
by cantshutup December 31, 2006 3:01 AM EST
I agree trid2bnrml...I wish all the people who died and suffered in New Orleans could have had the same opportunities for safety that bush and his *** dogs did!!!!!!!!!!!!

The decider is only interested in protecting his own arss!
Reply to this comment
by bildooreilly December 30, 2006 10:50 PM EST
I think she's on XANAX Randal
Reply to this comment
by randalds December 30, 2006 9:00 PM EST
Look at Laura Bush in this picture is she on Morphine?

Posted by bluestardad at 02:03 PM : Dec 30, 2006


Wouldn't you be if you had to sleep with that?

;-)
Reply to this comment
by randalds December 30, 2006 8:33 PM EST
Posted by bluestardad at 02:02 PM : Dec 30, 2006
Posted by grazinggoat at 11:00 AM : Dec 30, 2006

Thanks guys. It's nice to know my words are appreciated and I'd like to add that I look forward to your postings also.
Reply to this comment
by pendragon679 December 30, 2006 5:11 PM EST
Dang, a tornado almost got King Dubya. I give it about a week before the neo-cons find a way to blame it on Clinton and make Georgie out to be a hero.
Reply to this comment
by bluestardad December 30, 2006 5:03 PM EST
Look at Laura Bush in this picture is she on Morphine?
Reply to this comment
by bluestardad December 30, 2006 5:02 PM EST
RandalDS; well spoken but with International justice looking at this mess and American People's condemnation he is going to pay.
Reply to this comment
by grazinggoat December 30, 2006 2:00 PM EST
RandalDS
Krispy comments again, well measured. Way to go bro.
Reply to this comment
by trid2bnrml December 30, 2006 1:48 PM EST
Well, at least THE BUSH family, AND their beloved pets were able to make it to a safe shelter unharmed---which is more than can be said of thousands of Katrina victims and their beloved pets...

let's see, the escorted v. the ignored...wonder where the rest of us would fit in...
Reply to this comment
by antoniof123 December 30, 2006 12:41 PM EST
Why should the people of America stop being so mean to the President. I do not, you reap what you sow.
Reply to this comment
by gladys_over December 30, 2006 10:18 AM EST
RE: "As for that crazy AP-AOL poll, I would want to see the demographics of the people who took the poll. I think the only truly reliable poll is one that surveys anybody old enough to grasp the issue and decide." - intn1

That wouldn't be fair. It would exclude all of the President's remaining supporters.

With the increasing popularity of cell phones, the old fashioned phone booth has largely disappeared. Now Dubya's supporters have no place to hold their annual meetings.
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