Is there any question left -- any argument at all -- that he's just a sock puppet riding a bicycle?

From Salon.com

It took the White House press corps a whole day, but members at least started asking questions about why officials waited 47 minutes, and until President Bush had completed his Maryland bike ride, to inform him Wednesday that all hell had broken loose in Washington, D.C., when an errant aircraft had penetrated the city's strict, post-9/11 no-fly zone and seemed to be zeroing in on the White House. In all, 30,000 people were evacuated, including the vice president, first lady and Supreme Court justices. But Secret Servicemen who were bicycling with Bush, and who were made aware of the unfolding situation, chose not to interrupt his exercise routine...

The Palm Beach Post notes, "The alarm was going off at his house. His wife and a close family friend were home at the time. The neighborhood was evacuated. Fighter planes were scrambled to intercept an aerial threat.

"But President Bush, biking in Maryland, was not told about the incident that caused the evacuation of the White House, the Capitol and other government buildings Wednesday until long after it was over."

White House spokesman Scott McClellan, hanging onto the phrase "protocols" like a life raft (as in 'proper protocols were followed') still insists, "The president was never considered to be in any danger, and protocols that were put in place after Sept. 11 were followed," he said.

And then there was the White House Q & A:

Q: The fact that the president wasn't in danger is one aspect of this. But he's also the commander in chief. There was a military operation underway. Other people were in contact with the White House. Shouldn't the commander in chief have been notified of what was going on?

McCLELLAN: John, the protocols that we put in place after Sept. 11 were being followed. They did not require presidential authority for this situation. I think you have to look at each situation and the circumstances surrounding the situation. And that's what officials here at the White House were doing. ...

Q: Even on a personal level, did nobody here at the White House think that calling the president to say, by the way, your wife has been evacuated from the White House, we just want to let you know everything is OK?

McCLELLAN: Actually, all the protocols were followed and people were -- officials that you point out were taken to secure locations or evacuated, in some cases. I think, again, you have to look at the circumstances surrounding the situation, and it depends on the situation and the circumstance. ...

Q: Nobody thought to say, by the way, this is going on, but it's all under control?

Somehow, the fact that it's protocol, protocol, protocol to NOT tell Monkey Boy of potential disasters such as this one, but to let him just ride his bicycle -- that actually eases my mind a bit. ... or was it a tricycle?

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