If a stranger came up to my wheelchair and spoke to me in such a way...

Tacky indeed. But I was more fascinated with another story on the same page: "'Paraplegic' Leaps from Wheelchair, Flees" --

http://www.local6.com/news/9203711/detail.html

Bad press. Bad, bad press.

Thanks for the coverage on both of these. President Bush's act was a rather tacky one, I think more than anything it very clearly depicts how uneducated the entire country is about disablitiy rights and disablism. It's the little things that will always tell how much progress needs to be made, you know?

big deal, your all to touchy and take stuff badly.

no one's getting overly emotional...just noting that it's unfortunate our President continues with the annoyances like this that many of us encounter everday. I guess it could've been worse....with "How fast does that thing go?" or "How many tickets you got in that thing?"

Still....had he issued an equally tacky comment connected to race, I likely would have heard about it before now.

Ignorance... pure ignorance. I guess it could have been worse... Bush could have said, "Man! I wish I had one of those things!" or my other personal favorite, "Hey, ya wanna race?" He makes me sick.

The man is an idiot, plain and simple. A man who does not mind making thousands of young soldiers disabled in a trumped up war certainly isn't going to be attuned to the patronizing effect his patter will have on those who use chairs.

Reminds me of reading "Nickel and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich. She was writing about working at Wal Mart and she said that she was jealous of one of the workers who used a wheelchair "because at least she got to sit down." So much for folks who are considered liberal and progressive to "get it." No wonder Bush said such a stupid thing.

Your President is an idiot! I agree with Eileen.
After his inappropriate comment to a reporter with vision impairment at the White House, I think he needs educating about disability issues....and alot of other things besides!

Regarding the comment of President Bush said of the person in the wheelchair, Big Deal. He said it in a gentle humor. I would have said a humorous remark back. I think sometimes the disable get unreasonable touchy. I have to deal with people signing and rolling their eyes whenever I am rolling around in my wheelchair.

Once again, I guess it would be too much for us to ask that our president think before he speaks. What he said wasn't even clever. he could have, if he were at all intellegent, have asked what the carbon dioxide emmissions were like with that chair.