Bush To Filipino President: "I Am Reminded Of The Great Talent Of The -- Of Our Philippine-Americans When I Eat Dinner At The White House"

President Bush met with Filipino President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo today at the White House. Arroyo was in Washington while her country tries to recover from a typhoon that devastated coastal areas and flipped a ferry carrying over 800 passengers last week. Before discussing aide for the Philippines, Bush couldn't resist beginning the sober meeting with a quip about a Filipino member of his kitchen staff. Read part of the transcript from the meeting and click here to read more about one of the "Philippine-Americans" Bush is referring to. See the excerpt below:

PRESIDENT BUSH: Madam President, it is a pleasure to welcome you back to the Oval Office. We have just had a very constructive dialogue. First, I want to tell you how proud I am to be the President of a nation that -- in which there's a lot of Philippine-Americans. They love America and they love their heritage. And I reminded the President that I am reminded of the great talent of the -- of our Philippine-Americans when I eat dinner at the White House. (Laughter.)

PRESIDENT ARROYO: Yes.

PRESIDENT BUSH: And the chef is a great person and a really good cook, by the way, Madam President.

PRESIDENT ARROYO: Thank you.

Comments

[DevilAdvocate]

LOL the the sad fact is that Bushboy doesn't even know what he said was considered offensive!!! Come on November for a man with a brain,,

[cpscscs]

He should have given her a neck massage instead of attempting to speak.

[Naithom]

GOP, doesn't it embarass you that this was the best that you could offer to run the country, a Homer Simpson with a rich father?

[ThePodiumIsMine]

And yet the DEMs lost to him twice. Shouldn't that be a whole lot more embarassing?

[miles120]

Er, no. It should shame everyone who voted for W that they would be a team cheerleader rather than sober, informed citizens.

[kwalla101]

Embarrassing to the 59 million idiots who voter for him you mean?

[matthewhusseinsmith]

In any group of people, the dumb far outnumbers the intelligent.

[aqualung]

The fact that Bush stole one election and lied his way to winning another speaks only to the stupidity of the American electorate, the criminality of the GOP and the power of the Supreme Court and Fox News. Don't worry, though. The GOP is destined to be a minority party for the next 20 years. And America will be the better for it.

[Teas]

It's a hard to keep him out when they steal the election. And what does it say for the moron's who voted for him again after the first 4 yr. disaster?

[texastornado]

Bush is the procuct of our school system.

[Alethea]

Smooooooooooth.

[Mattjoe]

With all the seriousness of her visit aside, I'm quite certain many foreign leaders by now would be generally disappointed if after all the hype surrounding his social ineptitude and general idiocy, didn’t experience some sort of brain stall in plain view for their amusement. It would be like going to a NASCAR race and not seeing at least one crash.

Arroyo can now comfortably enjoy that big belly laugh back home, suspicions confirmed.

By this measure, I wonder what arm of the administration would be praised upon the visit of the Israeli Prime Minister?

[Jetling]

HuffPost's Pick

It would appear that he has a head chef at the White House who's Filipino.

Being that you have to have substantial credentials for the position of Head Chef at the White House - more than, apparently, Homeland Security Chief or Attorney General - I would have to believe this comment was intended as a compliment.

Sadly, we have easily the worst public speaker to ever set foot in the White House articulating that sentiment. To quote Bugs Bunny, what a maroon.

I strongly believe Checkers (Nixon's dog) could have made this statement and been graceful. Even Bill Clinton's cat, and cats are notorious non-communicators.

[jood42]

Arroyo was way more diplomatic than I ever could have been. I'm torn between being impressed with her ability to shrug it off and disappointment that she didn't stare at him blankly and ask him if he'd been dropped on his head as a child.

[rafaelc378]

Not sure how much you know about Philippine Politics, but she was Vice-President to President Joseph Estrada.

He wasn't exactly known for his command of English and was prone to gaffes and other malapropisms. But then again, he wasn't a product of the Ivy League and didn't live in America for most of his life.

[imalonghorn]

Again...al­l Americans of non-European descent are reduced to service and/or entertainment.

[KrishnaCore]

Ignorant and Insensitive - that sounds like Bush to me. It frightens me that there are people out there that voted for this guy. Oh wait - those people are also ignorant and insensitive - nevermind.

[TJC]

I know that Obama is not responsible, nor are most americans, but shortly after he is sworn in I hope Obama calls the international community and apologizes for the last eight years and calls out for diplomatic do-overs.

[RicksterInGulfport]

Similar to what he said to the Mexican President, "I love your phone company, Taco Bell".

What a MAROON!!!!

[kadene]

A leader is the embodiment of all the qualities treasured by the nation that elects him.

Hey America, what does GW's 8 years in office say about the American people?

[LOL123]

We're not on speaking terms.....­....

[StarkRavingNakedEmperor]

Yeah, that is true, unless you believe the last two elections were stolen...

[KoolBreez]

kadene: Hey America, what does GW's 8 years in office say about the American people?
KoolBreez: More like : what does it say about 51% of Americans. We are in the other 49 %

[princessofnowt]

it speaks to our ignorance, our self-centered egotistical misplaced pride, our preoccupation with shopping and 'having fun', our one-upmanship that is based on 'stuff' (rip GC) rather than humanity. Our laziness, our disinterest in the rest of the People of the world. I heard a 20 ish young woman say about one of the war torn countries- 'Ah, just blow them the hell up, thats what I say'. Rather get our hair done or a new tattoo than think about the 'details' of the rest of the world.

It says alot more than that, but it says at least that when we do nothing about this entire situation.

[GuyInTheBack]

No hard evidence for this but:

About half of the American people who voted for W the past two elections really believed in him. And about half of those who voted for the other two dullards (admit it, Gore 1.0 was a dullard) really believed in them. The other 50% of the American people voted for the best bumper-sticker. Fighting the Rove machine with truth is nice, but we have to learn how to make the truth entertaining. Anyone remember those 'chop sessions' in high school? Sadly, that's how the American people are going to pick future leaders of the free world.

[circusfifthfloor]

"Go ahead honey, pull my finger" I have informed all of our relatives who voted for this nitwit, that we will never, ever attend another family function, and that means funerals too.....CF­F

[Soundofthunder]

Please, stop.

SOT

[oregonrain]

Once an Idiot , always an idiot. His term cant be over soon enough for me. Thanks Nancy for taking impeachment off the table. I hope the good people of california get a grip and dont re-elect you !

[JAZZYHiggins]

She is on our radar. She is an embarrassment also. There are a couple of folks in Washington I would love to see gone - for good - Harry Reid (NV will have to take care of him); Nancy Pelosi and Diane Feinstein or a start.

[DevilAdvocate]

I too can't believe he wasn't impeached, the shame of our government.