fayfreethinkers.com

RUSUTSU, Japan — President Bush has been known for unguarded comments at previous meetings of world leaders, but British newspapers reported Thursday that he surprised a number of them with a joke about environmental policy as he left the G-8 summit in Japan.

Bush, who has been criticized for being reluctant to join international efforts to combat global warming, reportedly ended a private meeting with the words: "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter."
The Web sites of the British newspapers The Independent and the Telegraph both reported that he then punched the air while grinning.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy appeared shocked at the comment Bush made before leaving the G-8's last meeting at the Windsor Hotel in Hokkaido...

One official who witnessed the extraordinary scene told the Telegraph: "Everyone was very surprised that he was making a joke about America's record on pollution."

See here.

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But Bush was not done disgracing the U.S:

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Mr Bush also faced criticism at the summit after Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, was described in the White House press pack given to journalists as one of the "most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for government corruption and vice".

The White House apologised for what it called "sloppy work" and said an official had simply lifted the characterisation from the internet without reading it.

See here.

Doug wrote:Mr Bush also faced criticism at the summit after Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, was described in the White House press pack given to journalists as one of the "most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for government corruption and vice".

The White House apologised for what it called "sloppy work" and said an official had simply lifted the characterisation from the internet without reading it.

Actually, that characterization is accurate. The White House continued, saying that those weren't the views of Bush or of the American people.

As Rachel Maddow put it: I don't want Bush telling anybody what my views are, especially if he's saying that I reject the truth.

Savonarola wrote:Actually, that characterization is accurate. The White House continued, saying that those weren't the views of Bush or of the American people.

DOUG
Yes, but that is not the sort of thing one should put in an official press pack--especially when one is at a conference with the person in question.

If Bush wants to impugn reputations, his own description should say that HE is ""one of the most controversial leaders in the history of his country" and that his own administration is "known for government corruption and vice".