As we recently learned from interviews with the German media, the most satisfying moment of George W. Bush’s presidency wasn’t when we found the WMD (oops) or when bin Laden was captured (oops), but instead, it was when he caught a fish…although it seems that the alleged 7.5 pound perch wasn’t caught either.
But what else did we learn from Bush’s latest round of interviews? Besides the fact that he lies about fishing too? Well, we learned one of two things; either Bush displayed an amazing amount of arrogance and lack of respect when talking about the German Chancellor, or, George has another strong woman in his life…and of course, his thoughts on Iraq, Iran and soccer.
At the outset of his interview with ARD German Television, Bush was asked if he was looking forwrd to his trip to Germany this summer. He said:
Yes, I am. It was very kind of Chancellor Merkel — who I call Angela, by the way — to invite me to her residence.
And he proceeded to call her Angela throughout the interview. When discussing other world leaders, have you ever heard Bush mention Jaques or Ehud or Mahmoud? Was this the subtle belittling of a woman in power? In fact, during the course of the interview, Bush said:
– you know, I talked to Putin, President Putin the other day, right before Angela came. And she talked to President Putin in Siberia, as you know.
For some reason, she was not afforded the respect of the title of her office. But what other qualities does Angela have…important qualities for one of our partners in the war against terror? She’s “refreshing,” and “confident, but not over-confident.” Her intelligence, experience or political savvy were not mentioned.
After Bush finished waxing poetic about his new friend, Angela, talk turned to the latest imminent threat…Iran. You will be relieved to know that Bush is all about the diplomacy:
Look, first of all, the most important thing in achieving a diplomatic solution…I want this issue to be solved diplomatically and I think it can be solved diplomatically
Just as in the lead-up to the Iraq War, military action is the option of last resort…of course, one wonders if that will hold true if there is a possibility of a United Nations resolution against Iran failing to pass.
What we need to remember is that we’re at the beginning of the diplomatic process…the negotiations have just begun. Unfortunately our diplomatic endeavors don’t include actually talking to Iran because if we did:
…the Iranians will be listening to everything we say.
Well God forbid that the country in question is involved in any of the diplomacy or negotiations while we are deciding if we should nuke ’em. But as Bush pointed out, it’s not easy when “you’re dealing with a non-transparent regime.” We’ll have to assume he was talking about Iran there…
After reassuring that a diplomatic solution to the Iran problem is in the works, Bush was asked about Iraq and the fact that it is now a terrorist haven. Bush’s response was, stay the course, we can’t give into terrorists, and by the way, did you hear Iraq had an election? Bush did concede that the unity government “took a little longer than we wanted,” but apparently everything else is going great, and:
It’s worth it. It’s worth it. I wouldn’t have spent it if it wasn’t worth it.
Bush logic: The dead, the wounded, the debt, our standing in the world? All worth it because he spent it…the decider made a choice, so of course that choice must be right.
Surprisingly, during this softball interview, the question of secret rendition flights did come up, but since it was a question about intelligence matters, Bush refused to answer…and when a follow-up was attempted, Bush either played dumb…or just looked stupid:
Q But the behavior itself? Is it behavior for an ally —
THE PRESIDENT: Well, like, what are you talking about?
Q I mean that you do this, that you don’t ask for help for some of the ally, that you don’t inform the ally and so on.
THE PRESIDENT: On like what subject, for example?
Q Like these flights, for example.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, again, you’re asking me to talk about intelligence matters that I’m not going to talk about.
And of course it wouldn’t be a complete interview without September 11th being mentioned. Bush said:
…I like to remind people that September the 11th for us was a change in our history, and it certainly changed the way I thought. And for others, it was just a moment in passing.
So there you have it in a nutshell. If you disagree with Bush’s response to 9/11, it just shows that for you, it was a passing moment..which is more of that pre-9/11 thinking.
And finally, soccer…Germany is hosting the World Cup this summer and Bush was asked if he would attend, should the United States team reach the final. His response was pitiful:
I don’t know — do you think I possibly would be invited? I don’t know.
A sad commentary on our standing in the world…is it possible that the President of the United States might be invited to the World Cup? We don’t know.
Crossposted at ePluribus Media and Daily Kos
