Bush's unexpected squeeze of the Germ. chancellor has the Internet howling

[kskiska]

Cowboy george
Bush's unexpected squeeze of the German chancellor has the Internet howling

It's not exactly "Presidents Gone Wild!" but for the normally staid Group of Eight Summit, a video of President George W. Bush sidling behind German Chancellor Angela Merkel and delivering an impromptu neck rub is, well, as wild as it gets.

The scene, captured by a Russian TV camera, hit the Internet like a summer wildfire Tuesday, and it may be most memorable for the German chancellor's reaction. Bush applies his hands to Merkel's shoulders and neck while she's speaking with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi; the chancellor hunches her shoulders, then throws her hands up to stop the unexpected massage with a wan smile -- and an expression which can best be translated as "Ewwww."

While the incident didn't get a lot of play on major TV media, it was just one of the Bush G-8 gaffes that garnered considerable space in the blogosphere from London to Los Angeles.

(snip)

GOP commentator and Fox News political analyst Karen Hanretty said the outraged reaction shows how "President Bush just can't win."

more…
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/19/BUSH.TMP

[Rainscents]

1. LOL...

:rofl:

[saigon68]

103. Merkel also is a piece of work

Here she is escaping from Uncle sam's Sphincter

[Robbien]

2. When one is rude and crude how can they expect him to win

Can't take that man out in polite society.

[vickitulsa]

7. And you can't take the fratboy out of the pResident!

What a disgusting "leader" of the "free world"!

Maybe we should start calling him our "MISleader"!

If they're blogging about it 'round the world, I hope they're getting lots of input from Americans who let the rest know how most of us feel about our Chimperor. I've begun to worry seriously that those in other countries must wonder if we really did want this moran-in-chief to be installed in the White House. Surely word has reached the "outside world" that his operatives STOLE that office, right? Please tell me I'm right!

[rodeodance]

50. Maureen Dowd has an op ed about this today.

[leQ]

91. jon stewart had a frame-by-frame closeup of it. i howled.

[peacetalksforall]

70. You're right. They know. How can anyone deny the logic of

the situation. Republican owned hardware, Republican owned software, no vetting by any standards and testing by outsiders, everything on a promise, transfer of data controlled by Republicans, Republican technicians and caretakers, and Republicans who take the machines and laptops home, Republicans who hide machines and under-supply machines, Republicans who purge voters, and lie to voters.

Then you have Republican right wing networks who control exit polling, therefore owning the data, therefore free to manipulate and call the winner. This is the Republican General Electric, Time-Warner, Murdoch, Visicom, etc.

The world knows. The world knows we are phony and hypocritical.

[Amonester]

98. You're right.

But there's nothing the rest of the world can do for now, except to pray (for many) for the US will be won back to the people, by the people, and for the people. 'How' is the question.

[goclark]

47. He has always been rude and crude, they had/have blinders on

They refuse to see him for what he is because they want to keep the RepubliCNS in power.

[ShortnFiery]

51. Instead of being angered by it, I sometimes turn on FAUX News for

entertainment. Really! They live in a freaky parallel universe. Icing on the cake is the following: Some of the more intelligent right wingers are coming to realize that The American People are not buying their propaganda. Oh how some get all pissy! It's sometimes as hilarious as Comedy Central. Evil Right Wingers melting down is a delight to see. :-) :hi:

[cliss]

76. You are braver than me, S&F.

I got rid of my TV....seriously. I could not look at Bush...not one more day....

Or I would lose it. So I did the sensible thing: took the TV out to my garage.

[ShortnFiery]

78. As painful as it can sometimes feel, if you want to win ...

You have to know the enemy. I check in to get the daily talking points so I can counter them with those who are moderate in their political views. It's amazing how you can gently influence people: in grocery lines, PO line, the Fitness Center, at neighborhood parties, etc. Really, it's a skill I'm working to hone ... and if applied subtly, it works ... or at least gets them thinking. That's a good thing! ;) :hi:

[rodeodance]

56. Fox has a hard time keeping up with the garfuuus.

[Supersedeas]

67. it's easy for FAUX, just follow the WH talking points

[pfitz59]

3. Drunken monkey sex.....

Bush* was in apartying mood! (The Jewski's are bombing Hezballoh! Hallelu-yuck!)

[saigon68]

13. Parade Floats in Germany say it all about the CHIMPANZEE

http://www.dw-world.de/image/0,,1480641_4,00.jpg

GOD BLESS AMERIKA





Angela Merkel's support of Bush has not always made her popular in Germany. Here, a parade float during Carnival in Mainz earlier this year shows Merkel playing second fiddle to Bush.





Here is taste of what Angela Merkel has had to put up with from her German countrymen...

A carnival float in March 2003 shows paper mache figure of German conservative opposition leader Angela Merkel emerging from the buttocks of Uncle Sam during the traditional Rose Monday carnival parade in Duesseldorf. Merkel has strongly criticized the German government's anti-Iraq war stance.

[NJCher]

16. clever

Those figures, even if the one with Merkel emerging from Uncle Sam's butt is rather vulgar, are very clever. I can't even imagine how much time it took to make something like that, let alone the talent.

I tip my hat to the Germans for their artistic protest art.




Cher

[Binka]

18. Cher I Love This Float

Such Workmanship!

[trogdor]

85. Typical German humor.

I spent three years in south Germany (Stuttgart), and I can tell you that the humor there is, shall we say, "earthy." The word "sau" (as in female swine) and "scheisse" (shit) come up rather often. The list of "verboten" words is a lot shorter than in the USA, and "scheisse" doesn't come close to making it.

[MisterP]

104. most eminently quotable post of the thread

[silverojo]

20. So she's a conservi-tard, huh?

I wonder how she liked it, having one of her own ilk treat her the way he treats liberals. ;)

[michael_1166]

65. The funny thing is

if you'd be familiar with the mindset of our party here in Germany which says of itself that it's a "liberal" party, the FDP ("Free Democratic Party"), you'd probably think they consist of freepers entirely.

Seems like the definition of "liberal", including the mindset that comes with the definition differ hugely from country to country. Our "FDP" is a party which most of the time only gets around 10% of the votes, and it really is a good thing it's just 10% I tell you...

[leftchick]

28. Fantastic!

If only I could see something like that in the US!

:applause:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

43. Not quite the attention to detail but...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2728655&mesg_id=2728669

[krispos42]

102. It's a cross gun!

Ah, it took me a few seconds to recognize what it was!!!

Very appropriate, very appropriate.

I guess Faux News will issue some sort of emergency terror alert now...

Cross guns! Hide the women and children! To arms! To arms! More warrentless wiretapping and search-and-seizure! Are you with the terrorists or America, you commie pinko liberal!!!!!!!!

[oasis]

4. "ewwww" says it all. (eom)

[babylonsister]

5. Jon Stewart claimed Merkel was maintaining the 'date rape' stance.

Think about it.

[ninkasi]

6. Maybe he thought

it was Harriet? Who knows, with him.

[Endangered Specie]

9. lol!

now that's an image I didnt need :evilgrin:

[jobycom]

8. I'm not laughing. Bush makes a living out of degrading people in little

ways, in order to prop himself up. His nicknames are an example of that--all offensive, all meant to lower people to his standard, thus elevating him. Same thing with this crap. A world leader is talking to another world leader, and Bush sneaks behind her and treats her like his secretary. Power play, pure and simple. (And no, I wouldn't condone doing that to a secretary, either). This fits the typical world image of the US citizen--rude, redneck, informal, and having no understanding of proper behavior. In addition, the world can see the lack of respect this implies, even if Bush apologists like Hanretty pretend to not get it. Bush is a little boy in a grown-ups' world.

[Donnachaidh]

10. not laughing either ;-(

Did his parents teach him any manners? Or did they sit him
in a corner and feed him with a slingshot?

This jerk is supposed to represent the US? Please -- put a real chimp in the white house. Then we can have a real excuse for abominable behavior.

[Binka]

19. Welcome Donna!

The drunken MONKEY has so much class! No?:sarcasm:

[MUAD_DIB]

38. The answer is obvious.

Prezdent TouchMonkey doesn't seem to have any formal edjumacation in the social arts.

This little prank doesn't even rate as a C-. It's a F all the way.


What a miserable toad he is.

Thanks Bush for showing the world, yet again, how you are an inferior tyrant!

[dalaigh lllama]

48. Welcome to DU, Donnachaidh

Or did they sit him in a corner and feed him with a slingshot?

I like your imagery. I remember reading psych tests about monkeys who were denied touch in their formative years becoming quite maladjusted. I think you nailed it here. I can't see Babs wanting to handle any of her offspring. That's perhaps the start of his psychoses.

[vickitulsa]

77. Interesting subthread here. I was a psych major, and I recall

all too well the (cruel) experiments with infant monkeys where groups were raised in three distinct ways: one group had "dummy mommies" or terrycloth-covered chickenwire shaped roughly like a monkey body, from which the infant's milk dispensed through a tube when he "suckled"; another group had no companions whatsoever and grew up in complete isolation (I guess except for daily feedings by humans who did not touch them); and the third group was the control -- regular monkey life, infants with their own mothers raising them.

It was an experiment the results of which are scary as hell, and it taught those who investigate the shaping of human behavior quite a lot. As you said, the monkeys who were not touched as infants became maladjusted adults -- in the extreme, actually. Couldn't adapt when later placed in monkey groups. Couldn't raise their own young at all, walked away from them. The ones who had the wire "moms" didn't fare much better than those raised without even that.

The pictures of those poor insane little baby monkeys were heartrending! You could almost see their eyes spinning with their terror because they had no idea how to deal with the world. As adults, they were utterly unskilled in how to behave among others, naturally.

Everything I know about "Babs" indicates she would have been very reluctant to touch and cuddle her boys much. Nor does Pappy Bush strike me as the sort to do a lot of hugging and (the right kind of) touching. What do you bet Dumbya was touched least of all the siblings, given his innate disposition?

Results, in short, in a human adult without a conscience or the ability to identify with others, and lots of inappropriate behavior. As our maladjusted Chimperor makes the rounds visiting leaders of other countries during his years in office, I'm appalled to think what the concensus most likely is regarding his fitness to be in polite company, let alone to be the head of government of the powerful U.S. of A.!

He demands his "space" and distance from everyone except a specific few, even having a foodtaster, apparently. But when he has half-a-chance, he rudely and inappropriately invades the space of another person without her permission. I'm glad Merkel didn't hide her disgust at his touch! And that it was caught on camera....

So embarrassing for the rest of us Americans, though. Yegads, when does this nightmare END?!?

:crazy: :grr: :banghead:

[Old and In the Way]

79. Dad was MIA in hisformative years.....

Poppy was busy overthrowing democracy here and abroad.

[bloom]

71. It's hard telling

what his parents taught him.

He seems to have been "taught" by a group of 5 year olds who rewarded him for being an asshole.

[appleannie1]

11. combine this

with his mouth full of food, chomping away with his mouth open while talking to Tony Blair and saying "shit" and the world thinks the US has no manners at all. I was more disgusted by his open mouthed chewing while talking than the word shit. Since he represents America, can you imagine what the world thinks of us?

[Bark Bark Bark]

14. Yeah, The "Chawin'" Thing Was Outstandingly Gross

...for a child. For the President of the United States, it's just astounding. Sad. I can't even come up with an adequate word for it.

Still, part of me can't stop shaking my head and laughing. It's that or go nuts. And James Wolcott (http://jameswolcott.com/) and others do such a nice job of turning it funny.

But let's face it--Bush's humiliating buffoonery has always been there: the obscene gesture, the mocking of a condemned woman, the spitting, the rapid-fire foul mouth, his boorish behavior EVERY time he has gone abroad; I swear, Larry The Cable Guy would be less of an embarassment. (No, any lurking Freeptards, that's NOT a suggestion.)

And let's face this, too: if Bill Clinton had manhandled ANY woman, let alone the German chancellor, like that...oh, you know where this is going.

[Tansy_Gold]

39. Disgusting is right

I had told my SO about the "shit" comment and he insisted it must have been a set-up or a flash video created for entertainment, kind of like an al qaeda video.

Then he saw it on Olbermann and realized it was real.

"Anyone who's upset about the 'shit' comment needs to get real," he said. "That's not so bad. But his table manners are disgusting. Doesn't he have handlers to tell him how to behave like a civilized human being? They should impeach him just for that." He turned away for a minute and then said, "When his old man barfed on that guy in Japan, it wasn't as bad as watching this fool eat."

Tansy Gold

[pokercat999]

23. Little boy is right. He acts like the kid always picked

last that nobody really likes. He's always interjecting himself into the adults conversations and acting inappropriately to garner attention. Ok for a little kid needing attention, not ok for a head of state.

[JerseygirlCT]

45. Absolutely. This was patronizing and disrespectful

totally unacceptable behavior.

[NotGivingUp]

89. I ain't laughing either...what a fricking asshole....deliberate degrade.

[ribrepin]

12. I'm not laughing, I'm cringing

Reminds me of the a family reunion and all the girls know about "Uncle George" and his slimy hands. He's managed to corner one and she trying to get away without creating a big scene.

His "Yo, Blair" conversation reminds me of "Uncle George" trying to be cool with all the young men at the family reunion.


Everybody's relieved when "Uncle George" heads home.

[Shallah Kali]

87. It too reminds me of the groping relative

while the victim cringes wondering when she is going to be grabbed from behind again.

[DoYouEverWonder]

15. Merkles reaction'

was a very defensive posture. It's almost like she restrained herself halfway through and then tried to make a joke of it. But her initial reaction was definitely the type of martial arts move that is taught to get an attacker off your back. Too bad she didn't follow through with a right elbow to the groin. It would have be great fun to see Dimson whithering on the floor holding onto his crotch.

[hootinholler]

40. Yes, I noted the open groin as well...

Thinking why didn't you go for it.

Woulda been too cool fer school.

-Hoot

[niyad]

17. the commentary by the right on this situation is about what I would

expect. bush just "can't win"? what the hell is that supposed to mean? where was it written, or spoken, that he should act like a total buffoon, and a sexual harrasser of the leader of another country?
as for the comment about a boss being inappropriate in the article, that was BS--chimpboy isn't the BOSS at the G8--he is simply one amoung 8 EQUAL heads of state--there is no boss/employee relationship here, and to say that reduces the chancellor to an inferior status (which, of course, was exactly what he was doing)
let's see, the 'get a life contingent" should have something better to do than discuss the fact that this moran is embarrassing this country in the eyes of the world. how about the endless fascination on the right with bill clinton and a blow job that they are still harping on years after the fact?
seems to me that they are the ones who need to both "get a life" and "get a frigging clue"

[liberal N proud]

21. As the American President stoops even lower

Where his approval ratings reside.
What is next for this idiot

[JawJaw]

22. "We are NOT Frikken Amused...."

[lumpy]

81. My God, is tht pic for real?

x

[SlavesandBulldozers]

84. i second the question as to whether that's real.

[Lifelong Protester]

96. The pic of Condi?

Yes it is real. It was on CNN's webpage for a whole day when Condi's a** was being offered as the sacrifice on the line for the 9-11 commission. We all remember her obfuscating performance there, don't we?

[President Kerry]

95. holy crap that's freaky! n/t

[Demeter]

24. Why Muslim Women Wear Veils, Burkahs, Endure Purdah, etc.:

to keep the Bush boys away.

[ccpup]

25. And the LA Times

, as you may have noticed from the thread I put up yesterday, had a writer (James Gerstenzang) who summed up Chancellor Merkel's reaction in two words: "She smiled." !!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and, no, they have no intention of writing a correction or a clarification)

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-preen17jul17,1,2442410.story?coll=la-news-a_section&ctrack=1&cset=true

[susu369]

26. The Decider and Pig Slicer simply learned from Poppy

this bizarre story about Poppy's "creeping hand" makes me think DimSon inherited more than liking to talk about "pussy" from the old man.

http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:GmWd0S8KlrgJ:www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20060212/NEWS07/602120348+%22George+H.+W.+Bush%22+%22creeping+hand%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2

Published February 12, 2006
By Calvin Woodward
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Presidents and their wives have been an amorous lot, their White House years coming at the pinnacle of lives entwined. The men pursued and loved these women as intensely as they clawed to power and unleashed armies.

-snip-

Another no-nonsense woman, Barbara Bush, got a treacly note from her husband, George, asking her to show more affection for the television cameras in the 1988 campaign, like their opponents, the Dukakises.

"Sweetsie," he began. "Please look at how Mike and Kitty do it. Try to be closer in more — well er romantic — on camera. I am practicing the loving look, and the creeping hand. Yours for better TV and more demonstrable affection. Your sweetie pie coo coo.

"Love 'ya GB."

[krispos42]

105. Eww eww eww eww eww! Mental images!!

Dammit, Babs smooching up with Bush Sr.? Hugging and kissing and swapping tongue... maybe some under-the sweater action...

Eww eww eww eww eww! Mental images!!

Oh, God, I need some mental floss and porn. Briana Banks, save me from the evils of my rampant imagination!!!!

[donheld]

27. Sexual Harrassment

If any of us did this to a co-worker we could be charged with sexual harrassment.

[2020]

29. Video link. (It's only 4 seconds)

http://www.bild.t-online.de/BTO/news/aktuell/2006/07/18/merkel-bush-liebes-attacke/merkel-bush-liebes-attacke.html

[Tesla]

31. When I first saw this on The Daily Show,

I thought it was one of those mock-up videos like they did with Berlusconi!

Icouldn't believe how he eyed it first then went for it!

[nguoihue]

30. George W. Bush

International Jackass

[krispos42]

106. I'd argue with you...

But you are completely and totally right

[farmbo]

32. The internet's howling because its been CENSORED in the Corporate Media

Duh?!

The Internet is where informed Americans now have to go to get their news.

And its more "wincing" than "howling". Bush's embarrassing behavior was, at best, crude and lascivious, and ,at worst, an indication of metal illness.

[MrPrax]

62. So I noticed...

Glad you said something, because I couldn't resist noting this odd fact in the story.

So, even though it's like 'wildfire' (meaning popular) on the Internet, the commercial press, which makes money presumeably from 'popular' things, has largely ignored it? But the media will turn around and bitch about the Internet as being unreliable and some wasteland, but in this case as well as others, the press has patently refused to cover something they know is of interest to many people.

You'd think the shareholders would step in at some point and say, 'fuck Bush...we like to make money too'.

[NoodleyAppendage]

69. I've often suspected that Chimp was victim to "metal illness"

I bet in the 80s he was a Quiet Riot fan.

:)

J

[Longhorn]

33. They showed it on the news in Germany.

I just got back and that's where I first saw it. I don't speak German, however, so I don't know what they said about it. All I know is my husband and I were disgusted!

[IDemo]

34. Also from SF Chronicle (Mark Morford):

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/gate/archive/2006/07/19/notes071906.DTL&nl=fix

[rodeodance]

53. te he Mark does good work on Georgie also. thanks

See, now we get it. This is the bottom line, the final truth, George W. Bush in a nutshell. Bush thinks he is That Guy. The one everybody just loves to have around, the one who sincerely thinks his goofy charm is so appealing and so innocuous and so licky-puppy friendly that he can get away with all sorts of casual infractions and weird gestures no one else would care to attempt lest they appear, you know, dorky as a pinwheel hat.

And you know what? Bush really is That Guy. Just not in the way he wants to think.

In other words, he is indeed That Guy, like the best man at the wedding party, the one standing out in the center of the room, casually and cluelessly telling off-color jokes that offend everyone but which he thinks are gul-dang hilarious and, hell, if you're offended then you're just some gul-dang hippie liberal. Haw.

He is That Guy. The one who thinks he is everybody's bestest pal, the guy everyone wants to kick back with and have a few brewskies and chat about baseball and lawn fertilizer and Jesus. After all, isn't that what we all desire of the man who decides some of the most difficult, deadly, complicated issues on the planet? Isn't that slacked, frat-guy goofiness exactly what you want trying to broker peace in the Middle East and understand global warming and stem-cell research? Sure it is.

[rodeodance]

55. rec.

[otohara]

64. Ahhhhh....No One Better Than Morford

to put this trip into perspective - thanks for posting

[Drum]

35. drunk/high. nt

[Roland99]

36. Saw a bumpersticker this morning on a pickup truck:

"My heroes have always been cowboys"

With pictures of the 16oz cowboy in the 10-gallon hat.



I was laughing.

[City Lights]

37. "He just can't win" because he's a LOSER!

Faux sure has a bunch of whiners.

[Beth in VT]

41. Why isn't the MSM howling?

This deserves at least the attention given to Dean's "scream."

[1monster]

42. Amazing the number of times they mentioned Clinton in that article.

:eyes:

[Mandate My Ass]

68. It's inevitable, the Clenis mesmerizes them

However, the Bush "massage" is about a total lack of public decorum during a world summit. It's appallingly inappropriate and shows, once again, his habit of demeaning people whenever and wherever he pleases.

Whatever Clinton did, he did it in private and for the first time in recent history, a president's personal life became fodder for the opposition party, many of whom were guilty of the exact same sin they pilloried him for committing.

[JerseygirlCT]

44. That's so hugely offensive

and somehow his toadies manage to blame this one on Clinton, too.

Big surprise there, huh?

[peaches2003]

49. Exactly the opposite

I've been reading that, too. Exactly the opposite was true. The rest of the world wasn't offended by Clinton. They thought the US was nuts for impeaching for a sexual misadventure. It is only here that the fundies are so outraged by sex. They love Clinton and look at Bush as uncouth and an idiot.

[rocktivity]

46. Dammit, does this look like smiling to you?

x(
rocknation

[Old and In the Way]

80. He has that "light's on, nobody's home" look.

Notice how dark his skin compared to hers? Maybe it's his tan, but I think he's got an alocohol flush going.

[rodeodance]

52. you can email the author here. I did--said thanks for the article.

Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

[peacetalksforall]

54. ..to Los Angeles. And how did the LATimes report it. Said she smiled.

That's right. They only said she smiled. Have they corrected themselves yet? Apologized for their lie? Ommissions?

Perhaps they are talking about it around the world, but not around the U.S. where right wing media partners with and pimps for the WH.

[rodeodance]

59. our news media is rather embarrassed by the whole thing no doubt.

[ccpup]

61. The LA Times assured me

that the writer and the Editors have looked at the video and don't see any need for correction or clarification. Interestingly enough, the two word lie ("she smiled") is set in a part of the article about body language eg. comparing the body language of a chilly Putin with the allegedly warm body language of Merkel in relation to Bush. And they'd like me to believe that Chancellor Merkel's body language during Bush manhandling of her isn't worth a mention? That it can be all chalked up to "she smiled"? Thank god for the internets. Otherwise I wouldn't have a clue as to what REALLY going on!

[RCinBrooklyn]

57. She should've slapped him - HARD! He is a clueless asshole.

[krispos42]

107. Marial=arts moves needed

Smash his foot with her heal, then draw her leg up and ram her foot into his crotch. Wheel around, grab him by the back of the head, and pull his noggin down while quickly bringing her knee up into his chin. Finally, throw her left leg behind his knee and shove hard in his shoulders.

[rodeodance]

58. Maureen Dowd: Animal House Summit

also posted in Editorials.

Maureen Dowd: Animal House Summit


Reporters who covered W.’s 2000 campaign often wondered whether the Bush scion would give up acting the fool if he got to be the king.

Would he stop playing peekaboo with his pre-meal moist towels during airplane interviews? Would he quit scrunching up his face and wiggling his eyebrows at memorial services? Would he replace levity and inanity with gravity?
............

The open-microphone incident at the G-8 lunch in St. Petersburg on Monday illustrated once more that W. never made any effort to adapt. The president has enshrined his immaturity and insularity, turning every environment he inhabits — no matter how decorous or serious — into a comfortable frat house.

No matter what the trappings or the ceremonies require of the leader of the free world, he brings the same DKE bearing and cadences, the same insouciance and smart-alecky attitude, the same simplistic approach — swearing, swaggering, talking to Tony Blair with his mouth full of buttered roll, and giving a startled Angela Merkel an impromptu shoulder rub. He can make even a global summit meeting seem like a kegger........more...


www.select.nytimes.com/2006/07/19/opinion/19dowd.html

[Matilda]

60. Bush's behavious is on a par with a drunken Yeltsin

falling about on foreign tours.

It's unstatesmanlike, unpresidential and plain bad-mannered. So
embarrassing and a bit surreal, almost like a bad comic film.

[onager]

63. Some more irony...

I'm an American currently working in a foreign country (Egypt). Our State Dept. is constantly reminding those of us overseas that we represent 'Murica and we must always strive to present the right image of our country.

:rofl:

Maybe I'll e-mail the State Dept. and ask them about the protocol for impromptu massages of foreign leaders.

[redqueen]

66. complicit that american media is so hush hush about it

trying to hide this idiot's shameful displays of incivility from his drooling followers... i suppose some they must be concerned that some of them might actually rouse themselves from chewing their cud if they saw it

why does that idiot hannity think bush deserves to win anything? oh yeah that's right, sean doesn't care... he's just a soulless, traitorous whore... an empty shell of a person.

[raccoon]

82. Exactly, the US media hos cover Bush's arse six ways from Sunday. nt

[diamidue]

72. At least he didn't wipe his glasses on her coat

I couldn't believe that Americans would ever vote for GWB after seeing that performance on the Letterman show. It showed a total disregard and disrespect for others.

[anotherdrew]

90. it wasn't a massage, he was drying his hands off from a bathroom trip

[arewenotdemo]

99. that actually makes a lotta sense

[fishnfla]

73. "The president just can't win" unless SCOTUS intervenes, of course

story of our lives

[leftchick]

74. A Must Read Mark Morford:Bush Gropes, Planet Cringes

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/gate/archive/2006/07/19/notes071906.DTL&nl=fix

We thought we had him pegged: Just a casual and aw-shucks sort of walkin', talkin', war-happy embarrassment to the country who was rumored to be a Genuinely Nice Guy in person but who, when he traveled abroad, nevertheless caused the entire nation to pre-emptively cringe in preparation for all sorts of imminent humiliations and lots of hilarious-yet-excruciating new material for "The Complete Bushisms."

But every so often we get a glimpse of just a little more. Or, rather, less. Of what lies just beneath that carefully controlled sheen of White House spin, what happens when Dubya is away from his handlers and his prefab scripts. We get a hint of just what fuels that clueless amble, that Chosen One bumble, that graceless and decidedly dorky sort of approach to everything from ordering a Diet Coke to comprehending Middle East chaos.

Witness, won't you, the latest in a huge pile of embarrassing Bush-on-tape moments. (Warning: Not for the faint of intellect.)

Here he is, the leader of the Free World, fresh off being caught on a live microphone at the Group of Eight summit meeting muttering to his favorite poodle Tony Blair, using his bestest Texas-boy shtick, that if them gul-dang Syrians would just tell Hezbollah to knock this s-- off, everything would be dandy ...

[omenapoint]

75. Kind of creepy.

Yech!

[redqueen]

83. kind of?

i'd say *extremely* creepy... not to mention unbelievably inappropriate!

nearly inconceivable that a so-called 'world leader' would do something so idiotic.

[BigDDem]

86. Who trained

that monkey to do massage?

[superconnected]

88. How offensive. To have to put up with a mass murders claws on you.

ewwww.

I would have pressed charges..

[regnaD kciN]

101. When I see that, I can't help but wonder...

...what the Boy King was like during his college days. I can easily imagine him at parties, trying to "feel up" or pull the clothes off a randomly-chosen woman in public, excusing his behavior with a drunken shrug and a "jus' havin' a little fun here" if they dared to object.

I also wouldn't be the least surprised if Poppy had to pay off a lot of date-rape victims during Chimpy's youth, while his son brushed off his behavior with, "Hell, she was askin' for it!" :puke:

[chat_noir]

92. he's NOT my president

And Dialog International, a Web site that specializes in German-American politics and culture, said Bush's behavior raised questions about the American president and his profile abroad.

"When he is away from his script and his handlers, his true lack of intelligence and emotional maturity surfaces for all to see. The dangerous situation in Lebanon ... requires true leadership. Don't look for it from the world's uberpower."

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/19/BUSH.TMP

[laundry_queen]

93. I've only ever had one guy do that to me.

I was babysitting his children and I was 14 or so, and he tried to massage me. I had the same reaction Merkel did.
Oh, and a few months later, he was arrested for sexually assaulting an employee and exposing himself to her. He was found guilty.
Yep, he reminds me of Bush.

[Canuck55]

94. Hey, look at the bright side...

He only has to do 2 more of these before the '08 elections.

Unless you impeach him, which would be swell.

[President Kerry]

97. oh lord..

can we please lock him up in the WH in solitary confinement? The "leader of the free world" can't spend a day in the company of foreign dignitaries without thoroughly embarassing himself and the nation.

[samsingh]

100. imagine if President Clinton had been stupid enough to pull a

stunt like this?

this is bringing dignity back to the White House?