NYT: Bush as World Traveler: Hello, He Must Be Going

[kskiska]

By ELISABETH BUMILLER

In between appointing new cabinet members, President Bush did a speedy 25-hour drop-by in Canada last week. It was a reminder that Mr. Bush travels as aerobically as he and his father play golf, and that a man whose critics called him an accidental president in his first term is showing clear signs that he will remain an accidental tourist in his second.

Mr. Bush never lingers at much of anything, but he really doesn't linger in museums and at historical sites. On Tuesday in Quebec, the president spent only 30 minutes at the National Archives of Canada, where he efficiently gazed at portraits of Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 2002, Mr. Bush spent only 30 minutes at the Great Wall of China, which he visited on the way to the airport. In 2003, during a six-day trip to Africa, he spent 15 minutes at the Slave House on Goree Island in Senegal, which is said to have been the holding pen and departure point for as many as a million slaves who were shipped across the Atlantic Ocean.

He spent only 60 minutes at a game park in Botswana, a country he visited for a total of six hours.

The president has even less patience with elaborate welcoming ceremonies and official dinners on foreign trips. "He'll usually get on the plane and jokingly say, 'Thank you, Condi, I enjoyed that,' " said a Bush aide, who asked not to be identified because the president's remarks reflected impatience with his job. He was referring to Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser and presidential minder.

more…
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/06/politics/06letter.html?oref=login

[SoCalDem]

1. The man has the attention span of a Tse-Tse fly

and the brain to match...:eyes:

[merwin]

2. took the words right out of my mouth n/t

[Lone_Star_Dem]

12. I was thinking fire ant.

Shows our geographical differences. Otherwise we agree. :)

[TexasProgresive]

31. And just like the fire ant

he is invasive, changes people's lives, is a pest and was imported into Texas, as if we don't have enough irritating natives of our own.

[Greylyn58]

40. That's Good ...

I like that and every bit of it is the truth!!

:eyes:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

51. Isn't that the truth!

That may just become my new name for him. :)

[Runcible Spoon]

54. *snarf!*

good one! :o

[SammyWinstonJack]

55. Or piss ant

bu$h* exhibits self important and rude, very rude behavior in the presence of World Leaders, demonstrating that he couldn't care less about their cultures and history. How embarrassing for America and Americans.

[leftchick]

23. a gnat....

and much more annoying.

[grilled onions]

3. if it doesn't involve a chainsaw,bicycle etc...

he could care less. He seems to be the most disinterested president in history.

[alfredo]

13. He seems to like

killing people.

[Ron Green]

4. This guy has the mind of a child..he's petulant, impatient, self-centered,

shallow, incurious, distracted, insecure, weak and stupid. We can excuse most of these things in children, but I think not in the President of the United States.

[Judi Lynn]

8. You've nailed him perfectly.

If he were someone's relative in ordinary life, he'd be someone you wouldn't really want to see a lot. He is rigid, tense, and his forced joviality is obnoxious. In ordinary circumstances, people would want to avoid him. He doesn't bring enough with him at the personal level to make him a well regarded acquaintance.


Shh-he's prayin'.

[Dulcinea]

25. He's like your spoiled, obnoxious cousin...

...that your mother makes you talk to at family gatherings.

My 3-year-old is better behaved in public than Boy George.

Does anyone have to remind him to say "please" & "thank you?"

[Withywindle]

19. True except

Most children really are a lot more curious, at least about their own quirky interests...it is children's job to learn about the world, after all. Sounds like * has been loafing through ALL the supposed development phases.


I remember being absolutely floored a few years ago when he made a visit to Brazil and said something to the then-President (this was before Lula) along the lines of "You have blacks here, too?" Not only was the casual, unapologetic, and thorough ignorance--and racism--on display there just stunning, but it said to me that no matter how long he'd been in that beautiful country for the first time, he hadn't even bothered to look out the window of his damn limousine.

[Ron Green]

52. You're right...rereading my post, I agree that children have an innate

curiosity that Bush has abandoned in order to be right all the time. He has only the negative characteristics of a child, not the desirable ones, LOL.

[reprobate]

49. Would YOU like to go down in history this way?

"This guy has the mind of a child..he's petulant, impatient, self-centered, shallow, incurious, distracted, insecure, weak and stupid."

[Pirate Smile]

5. Shockingly pathetic!

[catzies]

6. Add his recent trip to the Clinton Library to that list as well

He absolutely can't stand to be anywhere near people who aren't obesquious toadies.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1358966,00.html

"one Gulp, And Bush Was Gone."

[baby_bear]

9. Are you overestimating him, catzies?

Surely he knows the definition of either obsequious or toady.

Guess it doesn't matter, though, as long as "suck up" is in his vocabulary.

b_b

[alfredo]

14. Remember that picture of bush trying to shove past Clinton

when they were entering the Library the first time/

[thecrow]

18. Anybody got that picture?

anybody?

[truthisfreedom]

21. it's not this one, but in my search i laughed pretty hard at it.

[thecrow]

43. ROFL!

Thanks for searching for me.

[alfredo]

46. I have it on my desktop

Hold on a second and I will put it online.

That didn't take too long.

[Betty]

7. Well he's just a reflection

of the millions of idiots who voted for him.. none of them have the mental capacity to pay attention to anything either... that's why he gets away with all the shit he's responsible for, none of these morons can keep track of anything.

[Stinky The Clown]

36. He's also a "reflection" of the family values and parenting skills of ....

.... those that spawned him.

[alfredo]

47. H.L. Mencken says it best.

As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.
-H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

[alcuno]

10. And people wonder why we are so academically challenged in this country.

A thirst for knowledge is looked upon with disdain.

[MaineDem]

11. "presidential minder"!!!

So that's Condi's job! Finally, someone's actually identified her job responsibilities. Excellent!

[Dulcinea]

24. How's Condi going to have time to be Sec.of State?

Guess Karen Hughes will have to be Boy George's full-time nanny now.

[0007]

26. Don't think you'll be hearing much from Karen anymore

as she heads back to Texas.

[Javaman]

15. Condi, I haven't had an original thought, rice is morons wet nurse.

[leftofcool]

16. ROFLMAO

Ya think Laura knows?

Left of Cool

[moondust]

17. "Hey, that ain't about me!"

"Get me outta here!"

[daleo]

20. He has no intellectual curiosity

Although that sounds relatively harmless, actually a lot of harm spins off of it. It means he is wedded to a shallow view of reality, and can be manipulated by others.

It still stuns me that a genius like Clinton can be followed by a mediocrity like Bush.

[Stinky The Clown]

37. Hey!

You're giving mediocrity a bad name!

[daleo]

50. It's true

I should have said sub-mediocrity, or perhaps sub-sub-mediocrity.

[proudbluestater]

22. The title alone cracked me up!

[GCP]

27. Notice how the excuses are worded....

Mr. Bush's advisers say the president doesn't meander on foreign trips for three reasons: his security apparatus puts a huge strain on the countries he visits, American taxpayers are footing the bill and presidents don't waste time.

My, isn't that BIG of him. It doesn't matter that he's insulting these people with his obvious disinterest, he's just doing it to save us some money.

Which by the way, is incorrect. The host country pays all the costs of a presidential visit. Does this columnist know anything?

[Art_from_Ark]

29. The real reason why he doesn't "meander" on foreign trips

is because there aren't any "First Amendment zones" in the host country and he would be greeted with thousands of protesters wherever he went

[llmart]

28. I wanted my 1000th post to be on something special.......

so I picked this thread, because this is the sort of article that disgusts me to no end. Bush is an arrogant asshole who represents the millions who voted for him to a tee. They are uneducated, shallow-minded with no intellectual curiosity AND they are proud of it which is the icing on the cake. Who would have thought that it would become fashionable to be stupid and not be afraid to show it? I remember a time when we looked up to people who were cultured and interested in the world around them,(i.e., Jack and Jackie Kennedy), but now we look up to people who are shallow and we have the perfect president to represent these idiots.

[DrDan]

30. It has always amazed me that these pig-boy fans

would be proud to be referred to as "ditto-heads"

He must have had to stifle a giggle each time that term was mentioned.

Gotta give KKKarl credit - he had them figured out.

[Stinky The Clown]

38. The Beavising and Buttheading of America ...... eom

[drscm]

32. Bush is the antithesis of the phrase "Traveling widens one's horizons." nt

[Danmel]

33. He watches movies on the DVD player in the Presidential Limo

That way he doesn't have to see or hear the crowds chanting "Bush Go Home" What an embarrassment he is. I am so ashamed for my country.

[bushisanidiot]

34. AWOL thinks 'Condi' is his nanny

""'Thank you, Condi, I enjoyed that,' " said a Bush aide, who asked not to be identified because the president's remarks reflected impatience with his job. He was referring to Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser and presidential minder.""

[SweetLeftFoot]

39. Condi

She thinks she's married to him and he wants her as an old Mammy surrogate.

Paging Dr Freud - paging Dr Freud ...

[Stinky The Clown]

35. I must say this once a day anymore .... What a National Disgrace!!!

This man is a national embarassment. He is a man child. His attention span is, to me at least, indicative of a man with serious intellectual issues. Maybe he is closer to the simpleton he appears to be than the man a president should be.

I also see his "visiting habits" as an insult to the host countries. Mayde the next time he visits some place anyone with a modicum of world awareness would love to visit, the host country can avoid the expense of dealing with ths man-princess by holding the meeting at the airport behind a brick wall someplace. No cameras, no photo ops.

"Hello George, here's your hat and coat. What's your hurry. By the way, don't let our border hit you in the ass on the way out (dickhead)."

[Supersedeas]

41. forced to make Presidential appearances--great sense of duty

how many troops, still living, want to thank the shrub....
"we enjoyed that...thank you pRes."

[tngledwebb]

42. He's got AADD.

Asshole asshole dipshit dumfuk.

[Blue_Tires]

44. ladies and gentlemen:

our face to the rest of the world...doesn't he make us proud?

[peterh]

45. the sequel to the Ugly American….

Originally published in 1958….. It was an expose of American incompetence and of American arrogance….and now we have….

[Retrograde]

48. "efficiently gazed at portraits"

"the president spent only 30 minutes at the National Archives of Canada, where he efficiently gazed at portraits of Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt."

How do you efficiently gaze at a portrait???? I really need to know, since I'm going to NYC next week and if I could gaze efficiently at things I might be able to take in the Met and MOMA on the same day! And if I can get this efficient-gazing stuff up to Bush league standards I'll be able to see entire cities in no time - and have more time for important things like, um, shopping instead of wasting precious hours savoring history and culture.

[ooglymoogly]

53. lets see if this is thursday this must be canada

[Lisa]

56. "the attention span of a gnat" would be insulting to gnats!

At least they manage to make the most out of their short lives.

I am truly ashamed for Americans, that this rude, shallow, unappreciative little man presumes to represent them. And he also manages to make all North Americans look bad! Diplomacy -- and manners, for that matter -- seem completely alien to him.

Given what a big glad-handing phony he can be when campaigning -- can't he even feign mild interest? Looking bored and petulant while expecting to be entertained ... Clinton, Reagan, and even his father at least did the more mundane aspects of the job willingly, and didn't let on about their private feelings.