Seems there is a lot of grumbling from fans about Bush’s visit to the Daytona 500. While that could be expected whenever a President visits a sporting event, it raises eyebrows when it comes from what could be considered a very Bush-friendly crowd.
Former presidents don’t seem to have these issues. When Pinehurst hosted the U.S. Open a few years ago, I was astonished to see George Bush, Sr. casually chatting ten feet behind me, oblivious to his status as a former world leader. There was no security detail surrounding him, nor did anyone search my backpack going in. There was nothing advertising his presence, and more importantly: no inconvenience to fellow sports fans.
I suppose Poppy’s former career as an old spymaster makes him comfortable enough to pull such stunts, but life would have been much easier for race fans if Dubya had followed his daddy’s lead.
Read about it in the Daytona Beach News-Journal and at Prospect.