Of Broken Noses, Presidents and Political Cultures

Here's a news item worth noting. On Sunday Bolivian President Evo Morales was playing a game of soccer somewhere near Cochabamba and, in the midst of a hot tied game, the chief executive got fouled and got his nose broken. Ouch!

Here's a BBC report on the presidential nose event.

I couldn’t help but think, what would happen if President Bush was playing soccer and got his nose broken? Might it read like this?

Amidst worries of a potential international conspiracy. US President George Bush had his nose broken during a campaign fundraiser soccer game on Sunday. An administration spokesman, not authorized to comment publicly, reported, "We don’t know who was behind this. It could have been Al Qaeda, it could have been anti-globalizers or opponents of the war in Iraq. Frankly, the President has a lot of enemies and it is hard for us to keep track."

In a foul immediately called by field officials (GOP aides were recruited into service to officiate the game), the President took a major elbow hit to the face, breaking his nose on impact. Twelve Secret Service agents quickly ran onto the field where they wrestled the offending player to the ground and handcuffed him. He was identified later as Timothy Logan, an aide to Senator John McCain. Logan was one of a number of GOP staff playing in the exposition organized to raise funds for GOP candidates for Senate this fall.

"We don’t know if Mr. Logan acted alone in this or was part of a broader conspiracy, but our investigation on this will be swift and thorough," said Roger Applecard, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security. Department officials acknowledged that Mr. Logan has been sent for questioning to the US prison at Guantanamo, Cuba. It is not known if he will be granted rights under the Geneva Convention.

Reached for comment, Senator McCain said, "They arrested Logan? No, really? For breaking the President's nose? Well, in any event, he's on his own now. I was absolutely no part of any plan or discussion about breaking President Bush's nose. This is on the level, right?"

Well, at least how I think it might have gone. Evo's nose, I hear will be just fine.