Ford CEO: Sorry I'm such a liar
Talk about a joke gone awry.
Remember how Ford CEO Alan Mulally said the other day that he'd saved President Bush from blowing himself up when the prez was near the Ford HySeries concept vehicle? It was a total lie.
Mulally now says he was just furthering a joke he first heard on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show, and the Detroit News (which reported the story in the first place) now has a rundown of how the story/joke spread, thanks in part to our friends at Autoblog.
So, why did this story have such a quick rise to prominence? I think there are two main reasons. First, the News' reporting didn't indicate what it now does, that Mulally told the story "to roars of laughter." And, since Mulally isn't know for making jokes (I'm sure our readers can think of some, thought, right?), there was no way to think he wasn't serious. Second, there are already a lot misconceptions about the safety of hydrogen. Some people hydrogen=Hindenberg, and stories like this one play on that ignorance. I know there's a third part here, in that many people enjoy seeing the president make a fool of himself, and it kind of sound like Mulally might be one of them.
UPDATE: Speaking of Autoblog, our own Mike Magda wrote on the 4th that Mulally's Bush anecdote was one of the funniest. I guess I - and the rest of us - should have been trusting our own sources instead of the Detroit News.
LATER UPDATE: Speaking of Autoblog yet again, here's their video of Mulally making the joke. Listen for him saying, "I'm gonna pay for that."
[Source: Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Janis Mara 5:36PM (4/12/2007)
No harm done - I got a kick out of the whole story. Seems to me that another reason it was so credible is Bush's reputation for not being the sharpest tool in the shed.
As we all know, the story has been reproduced on many blogs. One commenter suggested that "After realizing his mistake, the president would then refuse to set a deadline for withdrawing the cord. Critics would accuse him of rushing into this without clearly thinking about the consequences of his actions. Eventually, President Bush would conclude that the best way to solve this problem is not to withdraw the cord, but instead to push it in even farther." (Post is at http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/1319#comments).
Anyway, good on you for quickly posting as soon as you got the update.
Janis Mara
www.ecotality.com
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Joseph 10:31PM (4/12/2007)
Ha Ha!!!
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T Town Tommy 11:55PM (4/15/2007)
I guess the old saying is as true as ever. Believe nothing that you hear/read and old half of what you see; especially in today's media.
http://ttowntommy.typepad.com
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James 12:24AM (4/16/2007)
Hey Mullaly, You're NOT A COMEDY PERSONALITY!
Hydrogen power already HAS a bad rap because
of the Hindenburg, & people are stupid enough
to believe ANYTHING. Esecially with all the stupid Bush haters out there. We don't don't need you taking square aim & shooting three things in
the ass at once all at the same time just
because you're NOT funny! Run Ford into the ground by your own stupid self & leave comedy to the
experts. How idiotic do you have to BE?!!!!!!!
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kaTLE 1:21AM (4/16/2007)
omg HE SAVED THE BUSH oh THANK GOD !I WOULDN'T WANT A THING TO HAPPEN TO BUSH I MEAN HE STILL HAS TO RUN THIS COUNTRY AND HIS WAR MACHINE BETTER HE KILL BABIES THAN HISSELF!
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kaTLE 1:28AM (4/16/2007)
THE WHITE HOUSE MUST BE GETTING IT FROM FORD NOW??? HOW DOES THAT WORK???
THE BUSHES SLEEP WITH THE OIL SHEIKS AND NOW CLAIM TO BE PROMOTING GREEN ? YEAH RIGHT W AND HIS DADDY PROBABLY ARE GETTING BLOWN AND KEPT BY THE AUTOMAKER NOW. BUSH IS A WHORE
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Steve 3:37PM (4/22/2007)
To the moron who associates the Hindenburg disaster with the danger of hydrogen fuel technology........
KEEP READING!!!!!The mystery surrounding the disaster has never been resolved - until now. In many years of research, a NASA scientist at Cape Canaveral has found proof that neither the hydrogen in the hull nor a bomb was to blame, but the fabric of the Hindenburg's outer skin and a new protective coating. A single spark of static electricity was enough to make it burn like dry leaves. The "infallible" German engineers had designed a flying bomb just waiting to explode.
Hydrogen is the fuel of the future. Can't wait for the day when the world is awash in light sweet crude, and tells OPEC to start using it in enemas.
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Roberto Benitez 2:45AM (4/16/2007)
I guess all the comments about how sad it was that Bush wasn't killed were posted by "tolerant and compassionate" liberals. Isn't it interesting how partisan liberals so readily believe the worst about Bush but then, like kaTLE, are barely competent enough to post a cogent comment. I'll wager she even believes the urban legend that there is a Lovenstein Institute and that Bush has an IQ of 95.
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CM 3:14AM (4/16/2007)
Twas a joke gone bad.
Well, the vehicle in question does have both the charging port and the H2 fill port on the same side, they are both the same size and look similar, so some confusion is understandable. However, an electric plug wouldn't fit in the H2 port and vice versa, so there was no real danger.
H2 fuel is already obsolete, as it is too bulky, too expensive and too inefficient to compete as an automotive fuel. There are cheaper more efficient and cleaner alternatives available.
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carfan 3:47AM (4/16/2007)
I guess this is why they use Cadilacs for the presidents limo and not Lincolns like Kennedy used. On an unrelated note, James (#4), just because people hate Bush, dosn't mean they are stupid.
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Nick 4:07PM (4/18/2007)
Anyone who thinks Bush is so great needs to get their heads out of their asses and look @ the big picture of what the Bush admin. has done over the last 7 years. Pull the wool from your eyes people. Anyone with a real brain and not just defending there political status would agree that Bush Jr. lost it before the end of his first term and is only digging himself a deeper grave now. Yep, that's right, I'm a conservative now gone liberal (and most conservatives would be so naive as to not believe this!) after the last 7 years of Bush Jr's. BS, my political turn to the left needs no explanation.
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