AP Inserts Anti-War Squib in Bike Story

August 14th, 2005 5:28 PM

It almost happened; an AP article on President Bush that did not include an anti-war slant. The 444-word piece by Nedra Pickler titled, “Ride With Armstrong Among Bush's Plans,” reports on an upcoming riding date at Crawford, Texas featuring biking legend Lance Armstrong and the president.

"It's a dream scenario for me," Armstrong said. "Now that President Bush doesn't run anymore, he rides his mountain bike fanatically. People wonder why he's stays at the ranch so long, it might be the mountain bike trails."

Most of the article goes on to describe how a knee injury forced the president from the jogging trails to the bike trails and Armstrong’s eagerness to ride with him. But in the piece’s final paragraph, the AP dons the yellow jersey once again:

Armstrong said he's not taking sides in politics even though he's opposed to the war in Iraq. “As a survivor, I think we would be better spending money on an illness like cancer”’ he said.