On Sun, 6 Sep 2009 13:12:14 -0700 (PDT), Mike rock
wrote:

Maybe dead battery, or bad starter. Try jumping it, or pull the plug
and see if it will turn over without compression

And if when you crank it with the plug out, it cranks fine and gas shoots
out of the plug hole then the carb is hosed up. Fluids don't compress
easily.

My thoughts exactly. Thats what happened to my Agway ride-on mower.
The motor would not even crank. When I pulled the plug it was all
flooded with gas. let it dry a bit, put the plug back and it fired up.

Called a "flooded cylinder" (my learning). Generally it means the carb
float has "sunk" (tiny hole) or is stuck open. With the plug out,
piston top dead center, strike a match from a distance and ignite the
fumes in the cylinder. Dry's the flood right up. Fix the float.

YMMV