Yes, apparently, it might kill the shrub to use anything but crude.

"Credit Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally with saving the leader of the free world from self-immolation.

Mulally told journalists at the New York auto show that he intervened to prevent President Bush from plugging an electrical cord into the hydrogen tank of Ford's hydrogen-electric plug-in hybrid at the White House last week. Ford wanted to give the Commander-in-Chief an actual demonstration of the innovative vehicle, so the automaker arranged for an electrical outlet to be installed on the South Lawn and ran a charging cord to the hybrid. However, as Mulally followed Bush out to the car, he noticed someone had left the cord lying at the rear of the vehicle, near the fuel tank.

"I just thought, 'Oh my goodness!' So, I started walking faster, and the President walked faster and he got to the cord before I did. I violated all the protocols. I touched the President. I grabbed his arm and I moved him up to the front," Mulally said. "I wanted the president to make sure he plugged into the electricity, not into the hydrogen. This is all off the record, right?"
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070407/AUTO01/704070338/1148 &imw=Y

Oh, the horrible irony that was prevented by a diligent leader of the auto industry. Good moves Alan! A nation thanks you for keeping Cheney at bay.

Reminds me of an important moment in radio:

http://www.otr.com/hindenburg.html

Listen to the complete audio, which I had never heard before (about 7 minutes).

Great stuff Edsel. One truly gut wrenching moment through the eyes of the reporter has been all we have usually heard. This shows the true scope of the disaster and is timeless journalism. I like dirigibles a great deal, but I am not a hydrogen fan.

The most striking part about the story from the White House lawn is how much babysitting really has to be done to keep this President safe. Remember the fight he had with a coffee table during a football game? Or the Segway wreck? Is he back on the sauce or just truly not equipped for existence? He makes Gerald Ford look downright nimble.

Lots of speculation out there on whether Bush has started drinking again. Personally I doubt it, but I wouldn't be suprised if the stress he has to be feeling lately has prompted him to have his doctor prescribe some meds, resulting in some wacky behavior.

On that note...I find these absolutely hilarious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irOFAjsnSg0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZd06wQW58M

There is nothing in that story that shows the preesident even attempted to pick yo the cord, or was going to try to plug it in improperly.

But I do question the wisdom of a product, that if you plug a cord in wrong, it goes boom.

Whats amazing about the hindenberg, is that only about 1/3 of the crew/passengers died.

"But I do question the wisdom of a product, that if you plug a cord in wrong, it goes boom."

It's people like Bush that make it necessary to put warnings on plastic bags to not let children play with them.

There's some BS in this somewhere. Ford would not build a vehicle that the cord could be plugged into the wrong place and create an explosion.

I suspect some liberal reporter going a little overboard on this one.

It doesn't say so, but this was probably a concept car.
If and when it goes on the market, they would have to build in the safety features.

(Same comments I made in the other thread about this story)

OK....My turn to call BS on this story.

First off (think about it) how could you get hydrogen, a gas, to flow down wires?

Second, being that hydrogen is a gas; the connector wouldn't even be close to being the same.

People have come to the point that they will print anything about the President, especially if they can slant it in a bad way against him, and there are enough people who dislike him so much that it has clouded their thinking to the point that they will believe it.

Oh nooooo.....the press isn't liberal or anti Bush. Refer back to the second line...BS

Actually, I think the concern would have been that someone might mistake the hydrogen fill door for the electrical outlet door, open it and try to insert the cord into the hydrogen fill area in some way (of course there would be not outlet there, but still...) The electrical cord has a remote chance of arcing while in the vicinity of body sheetmetal, and the hydrogen fill has a remote chance of having a slight leak. Put the two tegether and there might be a loud "Bang" of hydrogen igniting - probably not a Hindenberg-type explosion but you can't guarantee it wouldn't happen. Since it is a prototype the safety features would not be fully in place.

And when it comes to the POTUS, you take zero chances. Hence the hullabaloo.

My dear Mom passed it along and it was good for a laugh. Ask any classic Porsche owner about designs that allow the car to be ruined by a careless person. There are two filler doors: One for fuel and one for oil. Do you know the difference? Yes, that can lead to a dangerous situation. If the shrub could pour piss out of a boot with directions on the heel, nobody would have to watch his actions in the moment, or rush to his defense after the fact.

My daughter once put transmission fluid in the oil.

Fortunatly, I caught it before she started the car, drained and flushed oil.