# Have you ever shook the hand of a U.S. President?



## Capt Ron (Dec 28, 2007)

If you have ever shook a US Presidents hand, please describe his hand in a word or two.
I want to see if others here have had the same experience as several friends of mine have described at different times. 

I have never shaken the hand of a US President, but I have a theory.........


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## whomewhat (Nov 11, 2006)

Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford: Firm, but gentle touch. Very soft hands.

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## hopkins_student (Jun 25, 2004)

GWB, some time in Sept. of 2002.


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## TheSaint (Jun 28, 2005)

Bill Clinton in Hilton Head, SC.


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## RJman (Nov 11, 2003)

I once danced with a boy who danced with a girl who had danced with the Prince of Wales...


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

No I haven't but I did shake the hand of Ronald Lauder many years ago.


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## 16128 (Feb 8, 2005)

RJman said:


> I once danced with a boy who danced with a girl who had danced with the Prince of Wales...


That sounds like a song.

I've shaken hands with Bill Clinton twice. He does do that "I really care!" arm-grip thing.


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

I have never done so.


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## KenR (Jun 22, 2005)

The closest thing was shaking Sen. Joe Lieberman's hand in an elevator in Florida a few weeks ago. Seemed like a good guy.


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## TMMKC (Aug 2, 2007)

George H.W. Bush when he was running for POTUS. Talked to him for about 20 seconds too...nice guy


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## marlinspike (Jun 4, 2007)

No, but I did once vomit all over the front lawn of the west wing on the grass next to the driveway outside of the entrance.


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## ksinc (May 30, 2005)

Yep. Both Bushes + Jeb. And; my copy of 'A World Tranformed' (GHWB & Scowcroft) is signed by GHWB.


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## cdcro (Jan 23, 2008)

when W was govenor, we went dove hunting on a friends ranch, nice guy, never figured him a president.


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## Capt Ron (Dec 28, 2007)

*perhaps they arent human..................anymore*

The people I know personally all said the same thing....uncomfortably muchy/ soft/ like there was no bone. Hands made of soft boiled hotdogs.

My theory...........alien replicas shape shifters and they just can't get the firm bone structure that we have in out hands constructed just right.

Just something to think about next time.

Purell hand Sanitizer, the official sponsor of the 2008 Presidentional campaign!


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## Title III Guy (Mar 18, 2007)

Because of my job and geography, I've had the occasion over the last few decades to shake the hands of Carter, Ford, Reagan, Bush I & II, Clinton (Bill but not Hillary, though we've "met"), Gore, some others I've forgotten, and a good portion of the current crop of candidates, including McCain, Huckabee and even, for good measure, Chuck Norris, who did not kick my a$$ but could have. Thanks, Chuck. :icon_smile:

T3G


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## globetrotter (Dec 30, 2004)

3 Israeli prime ministers, altough only one of them was at the time.


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## jackmccullough (May 10, 2006)

Capt Ron said:


> The people I know personally all said the same thing....uncomfortably muchy/ soft/ like there was no bone. Hands made of soft boiled hotdogs.
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> I would imagine that's an occupational hazard. As many hands as you have to shake in that job (I almost said something about "pressing the flesh"), you well might decide to opt for a soft, energy-conserving shake.


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## Laxplayer (Apr 26, 2006)

Al Gore :icon_smile_wink:


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## cdcro (Jan 23, 2008)

Laxplayer said:


> Al Gore :icon_smile_wink:


did his hand get warmer and warmer as the shake went on? :icon_smile_big:


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## obiwan (Feb 2, 2007)

Margaret Thatcher
Colin Powell
Barbara Bush
Shimon Perez
Charelton Heston


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## Rossini (Oct 7, 2007)

"shaken" :icon_smile:


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## Laxplayer (Apr 26, 2006)

cdcro said:


> did his hand get warmer and warmer as the shake went on? :icon_smile_big:


Good one! :icon_smile_big:


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## Capt Ron (Dec 28, 2007)

Laxplayer said:


> Good one! :icon_smile_big:


Quote:
Originally Posted by *cdcro* https://askandyaboutclothes.com/community/showthread.php?p=701131#post701131 
_did his hand get warmer and warmer as the shake went on? :icon_smile_big:_

+1
It took me a read or two to get that one. I was still thinking of hotdogs in the microwave. Remember when they used to pack them with cheese inside....? Nothing worse than getting burned by hot microwaved cheese squirting out of a hotdog when you least expect it. 
Well maybe there are worse things, but I'm too much of a gentlemen to mention them.


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## Laxplayer (Apr 26, 2006)

Capt Ron said:


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *cdcro* https://askandyaboutclothes.com/community/showthread.php?p=701131#post701131
> _did his hand get warmer and warmer as the shake went on? :icon_smile_big:_
> 
> ...


I think you can get them with chili inside also.


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## 16128 (Feb 8, 2005)

Oh yes, I shook Rudy Giuliani's hand at a fundraiser last month. He had a good handshake - firm, no sweat.

What a waste of a good handshake.


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

marlinspike said:


> No, but I did once vomit all over the front lawn of the west wing on the grass next to the driveway outside of the entrance.


That's not the same as meeting a US President.


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## agnash (Jul 24, 2006)

No, but I do get *#@*@* by Congress on a regular basis.:icon_smile:


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## Reddington (Nov 15, 2007)

Ronald Reagan, 1980 campaign event.


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

George Bush in 1988 when he was running for President; he was still VP at the time. I saw Reagan speak in '88 as well, but didn't get close enough to shake his hand.

I shook the hand of Prince Charles in 1991.


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## Wayfarer (Mar 19, 2006)

Ask this question next December and I might be able to tell you I have spent several meals with the POTUS. Until then, I have never even been to an event one was at.

I have eaten in Bill Clinton's favorite place in Tucson though. :icon_smile_big:


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## Jolly Roger (Apr 26, 2007)

I've shaken hands with four of the current candidates. Well, make that three if Romney actually dropped out.

I gave Hillary Clinton and Joe Lieberman a demonstration of some experimental battlefield control and command equipment at Ft. Drum in 2000 during the Joint Contingency Force - Advanced Warfighting Experiment. Afterward, they both shook my hand, which I promptly washed.


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

Of course we all know that Monica Lewinsky can one up anyone who is proud of a handshake.


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## Mike Petrik (Jul 5, 2005)

Jimmy Carter, but it was the only gentlemanly thing to do under the circumstances.


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## Wayfarer (Mar 19, 2006)

forsbergacct2000 said:


> Of course we all know that Monica Lewinsky can one up anyone who is proud of a handshake.


Good one! :icon_smile_big:


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## omairp (Aug 21, 2006)

Was this thread inspired by that old episode of "King of the Hill?" The one called "The Perils of Polling" where Hank goes to a G.W. Bush rally, only to discover Bush has a limp handshake, and have his faith in Bush crushed?

If you want some election fun, look it up on sidereel or something. It's pretty hilarious.

HANK: _"This man could be the next leader of the free world. We're gonna have nutjob Third World dictators walking all over us when they find out the man in charge doesn't have a strong enough finger to push the button."

_


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## Wayfarer (Mar 19, 2006)

^ omarip: to make this more international, ever meet a PM? Not only have I met Paul Martin, I was in his parent's home multiple times in the 80s as a catered bartender


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## omairp (Aug 21, 2006)

Wayfarer said:


> ^ omarip: to make this more international, ever meet a PM? Not only have I met Paul Martin, I was in his parent's home multiple times in the 80s as a catered bartender


I can't say that I've ever had the chance to meet a current/former PM. Maybe one day it'll happen.


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## balder (Jan 23, 2008)

Jimmy Carter,in a bookshop in Edinburgh many years ago.Very nice man.


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## ksinc (May 30, 2005)

So, if Hilllary becomes President ... would you shake her hand?


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## marlinspike (Jun 4, 2007)

Howard said:


> That's not the same as meeting a US President.


Yeah, but I'd say it was better. I was proud of the fact that I was able to make it back out, but now that I think about it, it probably would have been cooler to have just let it go while I was inside.


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## Capt Ron (Dec 28, 2007)

ksinc said:


> So, if Hilllary becomes President ... would you shake her hand?


Oh, I would courtesy before our new queen and kiss her hand.
Imagine if the news got hold of that video clip!
After all, I am a democrat now and she our Queen and Barack our King.

I feel so much more protected now since I'm a democrat.


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## Karl89 (Feb 20, 2005)

Capt Ron,

Your attempts at humor come across as witless rather than witty.

Karl


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## Capt Ron (Dec 28, 2007)

Karl89 said:


> Capt Ron,
> 
> Your attempts at humor come across as witless rather than witty.
> 
> Karl


Karl, your boast of testicular tanting has left you dazed and confused the difference between when I'm serious and joking.
I was serious about the courtesy and the hand kissing to our next Potenate.

Imagine if that were to happen at a televized event. And I were to have seriously performed my duties as a loyal subject.

Would the people rally around the headlines of Queen Hillary or call for the ever fashionable guillotine?

Also, if you think someone is making a joke or attempting to be humorous, and there miserably failing, it's quite rude and untactful to make note of their inability to do so in public.

Not all humor must contain wit, perhaps that's a rule of yours. I am apart of the witless humorist I suppose.

The important thing is interaction. We all dont have the same sense of humor, obviously yours is far more sophisticated than mine.

For my comedy: 
I like Beavis and Butt Head, Simpsons, South Park, CNN,
Jack-Ass, Family Guy, American Dad, and Are You Being Served?

I despise the reality shows.

Try saying positive comments about people, it will make your life and their much better. There's enough negativity in the world.


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## Karl89 (Feb 20, 2005)

Capt Ron said:


> Try saying positive comments about people, it will make your life and their much better. There's enough negativity in the world.


CR - how about a deal? I will say something positive like "I am sure Ron is far more intelligent than his post would indicate" and you actually make a meaningful post.

Deal?


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## Dhaller (Jan 20, 2008)

ksinc said:


> So, if Hilllary becomes President ... would you shake her hand?


I would. I'm a patriotic American.

Here's something to think about - being a patriot doesn't mean "I love my country when it's the way I want it to be". That would be easy, and being a patriot isn't supposed to be easy. Being a patriot means loving one's country even in bad times, or even when it does something (an idiotic war, say) or is governed by someone (Senator Clinton, for example) one doesn't approve of. Now, the patriot does everything they can to fix it, by suggesting bills and voting and the like, but they *respect* their country regardless.

As a patriot, I respect the office of the Presidency. As an American, I respect our Republic and our system on government, and even if I'm unhappy with the outcome of an election, my respect for the Rule of Law and the decision of the electorate demands that I respect the President out of respect for their office.

So, if we wind up with President Clinton... will I do everything I can to support legislatures who will block her poor decisions? Yes. Will I seek to have her unseated in the 2012 elections? Certainly.

Will I respect her office and her presidency, and shake her hand and behave respectfully and cordially if I meet her? Absolutely.

DCH


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## BertieW (Jan 17, 2006)

Howard said:


> That's not the same as meeting a US President.


LOL!

No indeed. Brilliant.


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## Rossini (Oct 7, 2007)

BertieW said:


> LOL!
> 
> No indeed. Brilliant.


yes, our very own David Walliams.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

Richard Nixon, twice. Once on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier at sea and the other time I escorted him on a tour of a building that was being dedicated.

And while he never became President, I had a beer with Al Gore once.

Cruiser


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## ksinc (May 30, 2005)

Cruiser said:


> Richard Nixon, twice. Once on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier at sea and the other time I escorted him on a tour of a building that was being dedicated.
> 
> Cruiser


We have a winner!


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

Did Al get drunk and do the Macarena like Hillary always wanted him to? (Like she wasn't totally stiff herself.)


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

forsbergacct2000 said:


> Did Al get drunk and do the Macarena like Hillary always wanted him to? (Like she wasn't totally stiff herself.)


No, not hardly. It was at a Monte Carlo party many years ago and I found myself at a table with Al Gore and a man named Francis Guess who was appointed to the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights by Richard Nixon.

I'm not sure how it happens, but it seems like I have found myself unexpectedly sitting at tables in drinking establishments with well known or soon to be well known people quite a few times, usually getting free booze from them.

For example, Steve Martin sat down at my table in a club and bought me a drink once.

One very late night I found myself having a few with most of the members of the Allman Brothers Band, including Gregg and Dickie.

Most here probably don't know them but one night my then girlfriend and I sat at a table drinking free on their tab and listening to stories from Billy Joe Shaver and Bobby Bare.

And once I found myself drinking beer and playing foosball with Jim Varney, the guy who played Ernest P. Worrell in the movies. That guy was a really sharp dresser although he leaned more toward Italian suits. Nothing at all like the Ernest character.

I've always tried to hang with good looking women and I suspect it was the women that attracted all these guys, not me. But hey, if it got me free beer-- :icon_smile_big:

Sorry for getting off of the President theme. It just got me going down memory lane.

Cruiser


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