Bush Goes for the Ass as he flirts with Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh

For a moment, it looked like President George W. Bush was going to dive into the sand for the ball while hitting it around with U.S. Olympian Misty May-Treanor at the beach volleyball venue today (overnight PDT).

His handlers watched anxiously. Photographers leaned in. Secret Service agents stood poised to intervene.

And then, the president waved his arms around in a cartoonish play at staying on his feet and apparently looking like he was going for Misty's gorgeous bottom.

"I think if he'd take his shoes off, he'd be a stud," said Hermosa Beach resident Kerri Walsh, who with May-Treanor is trying to win a second straight Olympic gold medal.

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Bush spent about 30 minutes visiting with American beach volleyball players at the Chaoyang Park practice courts before they played their first matches today, getting sandy with May-Treanor and posing for pictures with the athletes.

"What an honor," Walsh said. "He's just a great sports fan and he exudes optimism and pride in his country. We know he's proud of us."

Wearing a sweat-soaked sport shirt and khakis, Bush tried out a few bumps himself while May-Treanor and Walsh took a break in practice. The president's passing needs work: he hit a pair straight but off his knuckles, then opted not to dive after the ball that May-Treanor returned.

"We've got to get him some shorts and a tank top," May-Treanor said. "Give him a little more time and he'll be good."

Bush then visited with men's players Phil Dalhausser, Todd Rogers, Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach) and

Jake Gibb. Many of them had met him twice previously, at a White House reception before they left for China and again before the opening ceremony on Friday night.
May-Treanor had joked with Bush about the tattoo on her lower back, which is the angle many TV viewers see of her because she is usually playing defense. When Bush saw her on Saturday, he gave her a friendly slap on the tattoo - the Roman numeral five and her grandmother's initials - and joked about getting a tattoo of his own.

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Bush handed out a few of his trademark nicknames: Rogers was "Toddly" and the 6-foot-9 Dalhausser was "Big Guy"; ("Stretch" must already be taken). The president recognized the camera-shy Dalhausser from their White House meeting and apologized for the phalanx of photographers that came along.

"He said, 'Oh, Big Guy, I know you don't like them, but they follow me everywhere,'" Dalhausser said. "He's very charismatic. I would guess most of them are."

When posing for pictures with Rogers - some of the Brazilian men's team also came over for pictures - Bush said the photos might help get the sport some more attention, which is usually focused on the women and their bikini-style uniforms.

Bush also told the players he had gone mountain biking in the morning, describing his workout as "unbelievably difficult."

"That's why they call it an Olympic course," he said.