Anybody know if any of the current crop of White House wannabes skis/rides?

At risk of starting a flame war over politics.... I am wondering if any of these folks actually knows how to have FUN!

Heck, it might actually affect my vote.

mm

You know, I don't recall reading much about the current candidates being skiers. From the last election, we learned that John Kerry is an avid skier.

I have heard (thirdhand) that Laura Bush (and possibly her daughters) ski now and again.

Janet Huckabee (wife of Mike Huckabee) reports skiing as a pasttime.

President Carter broke his arm cross-country skiing at Camp David when he was President.

I seem to remember that Bill Clinton also went XC skiing at Camp David from time to time.

White House correspondent Connie Lawn might be able to shed more light on this question. I think she may have skied with Ford when he was in the White House! Out of everyone to inhabit the White House, Gerald Ford has been the most prolific skier. He spent a lot of time at Vail and Beaver Creek.

Yeah. Ford may have been the most athletic US president ever. Golf, football, I didn't know about the skiing.

Wouldn't it be wild to be skiing and see the whole secret service entourage in black suits, ties and shades skiing en masse around the prez.

Let's hope we see a White House inhabitant who likes the white stuff.

mm

Cheney apparently owns a home and skis in jackson hole which people have been having fun with

Yeah but Vader doesn't live in the big house so he doesn't count as a skiing prez. Hey, what about Bodie for prez??? With his attitude as to not giving a rat's a$$ as to what people think, he'd fit right in with the current admin.

I have a friend who is retired from the secret service. He says that they could not find an agent who was good enough to ski with Ford. They had to place people strategically around the mountain and radio Ford's location so they could at least keep him in sight for a little while. The Chevy Chase version of Ford was a long way from the truth. However Ford took the whole thing in very good humor. IMHO the man also looks like a pretty good president from 30 years down the road.

Can't disagree with that - one stumble down an airport gangway and your branded for life as a clutz... There may be something to having guys in there every so often that aren't elected.. Not beholden to anyone. And you gotta love a man who is very polite in person but writes what he really thinks in a book to be released after his death.

Yeh,

Ford actually kind of laughed at Chevy Chase's interpretation. I was surprised at how much credit he got for such a short time in office.

I think Teddy Roosevelt was another one of those insane outdoorsman presidents. In fact, I believe he's due most of the credit for our National Parks. Let's hope whoever our president is, he/she (or in between in Kucinich's case) puts skiing first (and riding second)...

mm

That one was a biggie and IIRC he did have a few more stumbles at public events. I agree he was a remarkably accomplished athlete for man in his position, but I don't think he was particularly graceful. Center on Michigan's football team (good enough to be considered for professional football), tennis player, golfer (a few errant drives added to his reputation), skier. Very interesting to hear that the no Secret Service agent could keep up with him on the slopes.

Bully, bully on Teddy Roosevelt being an great sportsman/outdoorsman. Can understand why he has never outrun George, Abe and Thomas...

John Kerry took a lot of flak from the media for his so-called "elitist" sports: windsurfing and skiing. Unfortunately in this day and age, I think being a skier would be a disadvantage to a candidate. Unless they are as inaccessible to the media as Cheney (which wouldn't work for the top spot.)

I voted for Gerald Ford in the general election in 1976:-)

I didn't vote for John Kerry, but I admired that he could ski and board, and do both in backcountry, and had a mansion at Sun Valley:-)

This political blog discusses a recent visit by Mitt Romney to Pat's Peak ski area in NH. He is quoted as saying he taught his children to ski there some years back. I also saw somewhere that Romney has a vacation home at Deer Valley, UT from his days as head of the US Olympic set-up in SLC, 2002
http://weblogs.newsday.com/news/politics/blog/2007/12/mitt_v_mccain_mccain_v_mitt_an.html

Sonny Bono was a skier...

on a brighter note (?), so was Ross Perot. And Dan Quayle.

Into the political/religious realm, Pope John Paul II was not only an avid skier but also a HUGE hiker during his days as Cardinal Woytyla in Krakow. He used to lead young adult and young couples camping trips into the Tatry Mountains.

Didn't Gorbachev ski?

Dan Quayle was a skiier. Or was it a skiere?