The Pope was visiting DC and President Bush took him out for an afternoon on the Potomac... sailing on the presidential yacht, the Sequoia. They were admiring the sights when, all of a sudden, the Pope's hat blew off his head and out into the water.
Secret service guys started to launch a boat, but Bush waved them off, saying "Wait, wait. I'll take care of this. Don't worry." Bush then stepped off the yacht onto the surface of the water and walked out to the Holy Father's hat, bent over and picked it up. Then he walked back across the water to the yacht and climbed aboard.
He handed the hat to the Pope amid stunned silence. The next morning the topic of conversation among Democrats on the Hill, CBS News, NBC News, ABC News, the New York Times, Hollywood celebrities, and in France and Germany was:
"Bush Can't Swim."
