War Room

Outside it's America: Bush meets Bono

And you wrote the captions.

story imageWe asked you this morning to write a new caption for the photo to your left, and 500 of you came through. A whole lot of you made the inevitable Sonny and Cher jokes, but only one -- a reader named Ian Shaw -- took the time to remind us that Richard Nixon resigned a scant four years after striking a similar pose with Elvis Presley. Hope springs eternal. In the meantime, here's the best of the rest:

As Bono tells George W. Bush about the growing pandemic of AIDS in Africa, the president recalls that he "partied with some Africans once." -- William Wood

"Karl, I think the hairpiece and the glasses work. Just don't speak to Judy Miller again." -- Mark Gorman

"I have you on my iPod. I like to listen to you while I am presidenting." -- Anonymous

President Bush invites Bono to sit behind the desk in the Oval Office, promises to be "right back." -- Bob Glickstein

"Hey, rock star, got any blow? I'm kidding! Totally kidding! Seriously, do you?" -- Jeremy Resnick

President Bush asks Bono who "Joshua Tree" is and whether he may be responsible for hiding both Osama bin Laden and the WMD. --Donald Illich

"You must be thinking of a different Jesus." -- Jim Dowd

Bush: "Because, like our friend here, Mr. Bono, says, we want to help people all over the world take shelter from the pouring rain." Bono: "Um, poison rain." "Eh?" "Poison rain. The lyric is, 'Take shelter from the poison rain.'" "Not pouring?'" "No." "Poison rain? You sure?" "Yes, Mr. President." "Poison's a lot worse than pouring." "Yes, sir." "So I've been singin' it wrong all these years?" "Looks like." -- Locke Peterseim

"So you see, Bonehead, this is where Bill and Monica, you know, did it." -- Richard Stovall

"Yeah, like you never hung around playing guitar while your country needed you for a federal emergency." -- Richard Klugman

Bono: "No, seriously, I don't have any, haven't done it since the '80s." Bush: "But you'd know where to get some, right?" -- Stan Denski

"You know, Harriet said she'll work pro-Bono if you publicly announce you're pro-Miers." --Paul Myers

"If you'll sing 'Ooh, I love to dance the little sidestep,' I'll do my best Charles Durning impression." -- Jack Crowder

"So you just quick fry the tuna and then dump the whole pan, apricots and all, into the salad bowl with the kimchi?" -- Josh Hilgart

Shortly after this photograph was taken, President Bush remarked to an aide that he was "surprised that the president of Ireland didn't wear a tie." -- Dallas Hayes

"You're shittin' me -- $35 for an eighth?" -- Joe Francia

Politics in the news

Loading...

About War Room

War Room is written and edited by Alex Koppelman, with contributions from Salon reporters around the country.

Currently in Salon

  • At least, I was until now. Because in my circle, nothing is more embarrassing than being religious
  • Grab a partner. You have some cooking to do. Plus: Last week's winners
  • From cash-strapped polygamists to rogue lawn mowers at Sterling Cooper, the greatest shows dared to provoke
  • What the Democrats can learn from the Republicans about managing the ménage à trois within the party
  • Two holiday parties: One dirty, the other covered in dirt
  • Jacob Hacker breaks with fellow progressives, comes out in favor of the Senate's proposal
  • Richard Kelly's much-maligned second feature reminds me of the dirty, daring, imperfect country that birthed it
  • She never became Hollywood's It girl, but she was as daffy and heartbreaking as her A-list contemporaries
  • Christopher Nolan's second feature scrambled my brain and expounded a bleak philosophy. But I forget what
  • It's spawned a VH1 show and an excuse for Tiger Woods. But some experts balk at the idea of being hooked on nooky

Other News