President George W. Bush was presented with a plant by students on his trip to Northern Ireland (further elaboration and caption rendered unnecessary).

Forget his stirring speech on Tuesday night. One of the most talked-about moments marking Sen. Barack Obama’s finally clinching the Democratic nomination was his fist-bump on stage with wife Michelle Obama.

Asked about the knocking of knuckles, Barack Obama said that despite all the publicity and stress, he and Michelle “still do silly things.” Indeed!

A fist-bump alone won’t carry Barack and Michelle Obama to the White House, but it does show that the aspiring commander-in-chief is actually kind of cool.

That factor sure didn’t hurt Bill Clinton in 1992. Just saying.

On the flip side of the coolness scale, we have President George W. Bush, who recently went chest to chest with an Air Force Academy graduate.

Okay, we hate to say it, but that was, maybe, just a little bit cool as well. Political opinions aside, we have to credit G-Dubs on his form …

An Air Force grad gets an appropriate send-off from the President.

In his controversial new book, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception, former White House press secretary Scott McClellan reflects on some of the outright lies told to the American people.

Equaled only by the quagmire that is the Iraq war, the most devastating of George W. Bush’s many failures as President was his response (or lack thereof) to the catastrophic Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

According to Scott McClellan, the famous photos taken of George Bush overlooking New Orleans from his plane after the storm were entirely staged.

The brainchild? You guessed it, former Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove. Bush’s brain, the sultan of sleaze and master of media manipulation recommended taking the photos to show just how much Bush cared. *sniff*

The duplicity of Rove and Bush has tarnished the office of the presidency more than any two photos can adequately describe. But the staged images below are some of the most chilling examples of this culture of deception …

George W. Bush poses for the cameras as he surveys New Orleans.

When George W. Bush took shots at Barack Obama and others over foreign policy last week, it played straight into the likely Democratic candidate’s hand.

Linking George Bush to John McCain, the GOP nominee, is a can’t-miss Democratic strategy - and the issues of Iraq and terrorism give Obama his best chance to illustrate the undeniable, alarming connection between the two hawks.

These photos don’t hurt either…

John McCain and George W. Bush: Rivals or old chums?

There was no love lost between George W. Bush and John McCain in the 2000 election, and the latter isn’t a Bush carbon copy on every issue.

When it comes to their world view, however, the two are frighteningly similar.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has proven that a woman can be strong, capable and viable as a candidate for President of the United States.

Unfortunately for Hillary, about 51 percent of Democratic primary and caucus voters would rather go with someone else this time around.

With the primary season winding down and Clinton’s chances dwindling, the youngster below might want to edit her sign … unless, that is, she’s not talking about Hillary Clinton? If not her, who will the first female president be?

One of Hillary Clinton’s younger supporters displays a sign touting her own future presidential ambitions. Look out for this upstart in 2044!

Special thanks to a reader who sent us the link to this photo. A French translation of a tag on an American company’s clothing sold in France speaks for itself.

Please remember to wash with warm water, dry flat and not to iron it - and that 48.3 percent of us voted for John Kerry.

Because it’s real, this photo may be our all-time favorite - even better than our previous favorite, the photo-shopped, faux “Welcome to Connecticut” sign apologizing for George W. Bush being born on Nutmeg State soil.

Follow the jump to see that classic…

Continue reading this article …

The location of Sen. Barack Obama’s just-opened headquarters here in Wayne, W.V., says a lot about the challenges facing both the candidate and this Mountaineer community as voters prepare to vote in Tuesday’s primary.

The makeshift Barack Obama campaign office is across from the courthouse and next to a thrift shop. A hand-drawn sign covers a torn awning over its door, indicating that the storefront probably used to be a restaurant.

While Obama is ahead nationally in delegates and the popular vote, and more than a few pundits have said the Democratic race is game over, Sen. Hillary Clinton has an enormous lead in West Virginia polls thus far.

Read on for USA Today’s coverage of Obama’s uphill climb …

Check out this photo Barack Obama pounding a brew at the Raleigh Times Bar in Raleigh, N.C., on Tuesday, the day of the North Carolina primary.

He may not be known as the working man’s candidate, but the Illinois Senator seemed right at home on this day, enjoying a Pabst Blue Ribbon with locals.

Pabst! The sacrifices this man makes for America. If you aren’t firmly in Barack Obama’s camp already, this should give you the final push …

To further show what a generous guy he is, on top of an inspirational leader, Obama tipped $18 on the $2 draft. Maybe all he had were $20s?

SIDE NOTE: It’s good to see Pabst still costs a fair $2 in some establishments. It does the job, but let’s face it, it’s still Pabst. Charging $3.50 for a Blue Ribbon like places do in the Northeast is just criminal.

One of our favorite images from last night’s election coverage (perhaps the only decent one, really) came not from Pennsylvania, but from Evansville, Indiana.

Despite a tough loss in the Pennsylvania primary, there was a positive feeling in the air as Sen. Barack Obama prepared to speak to an overflow crowd of supporters.

Seven Obama rally-goers in particular got caught up in the moment and just couldn’t contain their excitement … at being from Indiana!

Are they showing their support for their beloved college and pro basketball teams, both of which suffered through difficult seasons? Or for a certain adventurous and iconic film archaeologist nicknamed after their state? We may never know.

Let’s just hope they show up to vote May 6.

No matter what you think of her politically or personally, there’s no doubt that former First Lady and current Sen. Hillary Clinton is expressive.

How expressive? We’re all familiar with her by now, but just for fun, here’s a gallery of some of her best (worst) moments we found online …

The more we follow politics, and the presidential race in particular, the more we wonder why anyone wants the job. These people are beyond tough.

After all, there are about 10 million Hillary Clinton photos to choose from if you want to scour them. If the same were true of you, that would probably make for some pretty ridiculous collages as well. But you are not running for office.

Even if you’re a successful politician, millions are laughing at you.

If your approval rating is in the low 30s like George W. Bush, people just want you to go away and never be heard from again (or tried for high crimes if you are a resident of Vermont). Even the quotes cease to be funny after awhile.