A couple days ago we mentioned Ford CEO Alan Mulally’s tale of his harrowing visit with President Bush. He told a room full of journalists in New York that he had to think fast when Bush tried to insert a live power cord into a hybrid car’s hydrogen tank, saying he quickly pushed Bush out of the way to prevent disaster. The story exploded (much like sparked hydrogen) on the Internet after The Detroit Free Press took Mulally’s tale seriously. Even the stalwart Financial Times reported the story as fact.
Now the Ford exec is trying to explain that he was just joking when he implied the president was a hairsbreadth from blowing himself up. The attempt at humor was inspired by a sketch by Jimmy Kimmel, depicting Bush bumbling with power cords. While issuing an apology, a Ford spokesman said Mulally took the joke and “kind of embellished the whole thing,” adding “there was no danger whatsoever.”
Isn’t in nice to hear that even non-politicians fall prey to their own failed jokes in front of journalists?
Photo by Flickr user cornflakegirl.
