Sam Hornish Jr. figures he'll just have to win the 91st Indianapolis 500 to continue his conversation with President George W. Bush. source: indycar.com / By Dave Lewandowski Hornish, known for his quick wit and rarely at a loss for words, found himself temporarily awestruck when the president greeted the Marlboro Team Penske contingent in the President's Conference Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Hornish, his wife, Crystal, Indy Racing League CEO Tony George and Penske Racing owner Roger Penske flanked the Borg-Warner Trophy for a photo opportunity with the president, who welcomed the group by saying "Welcome to the White House, the bastion of freedom." "You can't really prepare for that," said Hornish, who also was the subject of a press conference outside the West Wing and participated in an "Ask the White House" online chat. "There aren't too many people I come in contact with that I can't find the words to spit out of my mouth on what I want to tell them, but that was one of them. "I couldn't say everything I wanted to say. I got out the fact how honored I was to meet him. As soon as his hand left mine and he moved on, I thought, 'Hey, dummy, you didn't say half the things you wanted to say to him,' so I was more critical of myself for not saying the things I wanted to." The photo opportunity had been planned for the South Lawn, but oppressive heat forced it indoors. Only hours earlier, Bush returned from the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, where leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union discussed continued cooperation on a broad range of international economic, security, and political issues.
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