The headline and the last line make the story

Looks like President Bush is pulling out early
Tuesday, July 22, 2008, 05:01 PM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Faced with a line of heavy thundershowers bearing down from Alabama, the advance team for President Bush just gave the orders for an early return to Dobbins Air Reserve Base for his trip home.

The press entourage has been piled into their vans, air-conditioners running.

Here’s the story so far:

President Bush arrived at Dobbins Air Reserve Base at 3:47 p.m., stepped off at 3:56 p.m.

As greeting committees for presidents go, this was relatively low grade. Top official was Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren. Next in line was Lou Brissie of South Carolina, a former pro pitcher from the 1940s and early ‘50s. Bush spent several minutes with him.

See post below.

Bush also posed with Sherri Goggin of Athens, who founded the volunteer group Bundles of Joy, which distributes gift packages to premature babies.

A 15-car parade left the base at precisely 4 p.m., taking Delk Road to I-75, which was a ghost of its usual self, even south bound. Then to West Paces Ferry Road to the residence of Harrison Merrill, a developer who specializes in restoring landmark buildings.

Bush went to the Dumbarton Road residence of Merrill for the fund-raiser intended to benefit Republican Rick Goddard, a retired Air Force major general who is challenging U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall of Macon, a Democrat.

Efforts to contact Goddard’s spokesman on Tuesday have failed to meet with any success.

Reporters were sequestered in a nearby house and saw nothing of the event itself, nor the people who attended. A spokesman for the governor confirmed that Sonny Perdue did attend.

The journalistic benefit of this experience has thus far been limited to the thrill of a rush-hour drive down an empty I-75.