Bush Gaffes His Way Toward More International Ridicule

President Bush concluded his final G8 Summit today. Here's his parting shot:

"Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter!"

I am not making this up! And the Telegraph reports: "He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock."

Oy. Remember how earlier today Rudy Giuliani said that the Europeans hearted Barack Obama because he fuels their anti-American sentiment with all his insistence that American's learn other languages? And I said, "Know what's really reinforced feelings of anti-Americanism? President Bush and his policies!" Well, thanks for making my point for me, Mr. President. Though I needn't have waited until this morning, because the G8 Summit has historically been a venue where Bush has had great success making the other plutocrats in the G8 laugh at us.

Via ThinkProgress, here's another highlight from this week's Summit. I think everything Rudy Giuliani had to say today about how awful Obama is to encourage learning other languages just comes to life:

As the New York Times's Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports, Bush had a bit of a language mishap when speaking to "one of his best buddies in Europe," Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi:

"Amigo! Amigo!" Mr. Bush called out cheerily in Spanish when he spotted the Italian prime minister. "How you doing, Silvio? Good to see you!" Later, the president wondered about his former Russian counterpart, Vladimir V. Putin. "Did Putin come to see you since I saw you?" he asked Mr. Berlusconi. (He had not.)

Matt Yglesias provides a handy little map of the world for Bush's advance team for the next time Bush travels to Europe to represent America, which, naturally, we hope is never.

It's not the first embarrassing moment for the White House, who earlier this week circulated a press kit that included a bio of Berlusconi that described him as ""most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for government corruption and vice." Kinsley gaffe!

And these are just this year's highlights. Remember this "hot mike" incident of 2006? Bush was recorded complaining, "I'm not going to talk too damn long like the rest of them. Some of these guys talk too long." Then he badgered a server for a Diet Coke, noted profoundly that "Russia's big and so is China," and thanked Tony Blair for a sweater he gave him. Blair finally turned the microphone off before Bush could mention just how badly he wanted to cut Kofi Annan's nuts off.

And who could forget that time Bush tried his best move on German Chancellor Angela Merkel?

Really. The only person I can think of who's come off worse in front of the Germans is Basil Fawlty.

Comments

[barackobama4prez]

it is my fear that americans haven't had enough of their "C-" president. if they elect Gramps, the "D-" candidate, we're doomed.

[SimonNZ]

What a complete tool........How many months to go till he's gone?

[ComnCents]

What else would you expect from a guy who grew up looking and acting like Alfred E. Neuman.

[Bluesplayer]

"Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter!" That sounds disgustingly similar to "Scarface" Tony Montana's little speech in the restaurant scene.

TONY
"You need people like me so you can point your fingers and say 'hey there's the bad guy!' So what does that make you? Good guys? Don't kid yourselves. You're no better'n me. You just know how to hide -- and how to lie. Me I don't have that problem. I always tell the truth -- even when I lie."
He starts out, staggers.

TONY
"So say good night to the bad guy...
You're never gonna see a bad guy
like me again."

[ofbbg]

Bush is NOT, I repeat NOT running for president. BDS means nothing now. Focus on the future!

[BarryChamplain]

BDS... oh, have the great psychiatrists of the world now declared this, officially, a pathology? Or maybe all one now officially needs to codify a "behavior" into Reality is for AM right wing hate talk radio to declare it so, to America's Stupids? Perhaps a thread or two on the freepers' site?

Yes, to take note of ANY of this; to be so declasse as to pipe up modestly and actually SAY something when the unruly, rabid pet pees on the word's furniture, is "derangement". How ill-behaved of US to mention it! What WERE we thinking?

You know what makes me deranged? One mention by one Democrat of ONE LOUSY WORD... such as "bitter"... and the entire mainstream news media melts the eff down for two to three weeks.

Coked-up, dry drunk, unelected frat boy dictator insults world leaders, and [crickets].

*I* must be deranged.

[Rianna]

This intellectually challenged, frat boy, has been an embarrassment to this country.

Whatever Bill Clinton's faults were, he never embarrassed this country, or made us cringe, when
represented us abroad. Bush has constantly acted like an immature imbecile, who does not have
class, nor the ability to say the right thing, in the right way.

People voted for this moron, not once, but twice!

[dlbdpb]

Boy do I hate that when some say we voted for him twice, I DIDN'T nor did over half of Ameericans, don't you remember how he got elected both times? By hook or by CROOK is his motto.

[Blurp]

Priceless! You know that cartoon character L'il Bush? Well that drawing has more grace and dignity than its grown-up flesh-and-blood inspiration.

[BadChristian]

If you don't think of the Presidency as a popularity contest or a beauty contest, but as a position of rulership and dominance... Jr. is a phenom.
Dominated the most powerful country in the history of the world without even winning an election. Convinced them that torture was alright, pollution wasn't really pollution, that it was wise to attack Iraq instead of concentrating on Al Qaeda and catching Osama...

The guys' PR department is amazing. Bush could make the moderates and conservatives sign off on ANYTHING.... These guys sold them anything they wanted, while they were laughing and smirking the whole time.

You might not be able to fool all the people all the time... But the conservatives have taken eight years to figure out that Bush isn't one of them, and the "moderates"... they'd jump off a bridge if the "cool people" were pretending to do it.

As far as dominating people into being his subjects while making TONS of money for his cronies... This administration has been amazing.
In fact... The only people who have actually tried to fight him are the liberals, and look where they are... Mostly hiding under another lable so they won't get made fun of.

[enlighteninglad]

First, as a moderate I won't be jumping off anything on a neo-con's say so. Second, here's a conspiracy theory that makes sense. Wire tapping of everyone includes one's political enemies. Nixon did it. And since there are so many skeletons in politician's closets, they are probably being blackmailed into letting these criminals off the hook. Its just so blatant and in your face that I am having a hard time thinking it could be anything else. THE most impeachable administration ever and NOTHING is being done about it? Come on. There has to be a reason and Occam's Razor would suggest they're all in on it or prevented from doing anything to stop it.

[BadChristian]

Yes... That's a fine conspiracy.
But then...

To conspire is as easy as breathing with a (close) friend... Hence the word.

Then again, how do you stay "moderate" about someone doing what you suggest?

Sounds like it might be downright "illiberal" behavior. Nothing Moderate about that.

"As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality."

--George Washington

[The 13 Colonies]

Forget about what Mr. Bush might ingest [beer etc.] Some people just have a built in dopey quality. He was born that way. For all the people who voted for him.............. what is their excuse?

[ofbbg]

Apparently, they thought he was better than the alternatives. And don't start whining about Florida! After numerous recounts, he still won the popular vote - not by much, but he won. And Ohio - he won that by over 140,000 votes. Adjust!!

[enlighteninglad]

Eliminating legitimate voters from the rolls helped QUITE a bit in Florida. No, a stolen election is something you really can't get over, especially when it results in a furtherance of American Fascism.

BTW, there were a lot of shenanigans in Ohio too, but you'll never accept it so why do I bother? Trying to get a die hard Bushie to see the truth is harder than walking to the moon.

[Joeblue]

Wrong, wrong, wrong! Newspapers did a recount three times over and Gore won the popular vote. Take your neo-con BS somewhere else.

[commissaris]

At least he did not throw up on anyone.

[PDAGUY9]

Thank you to all of the American public that voted for this man. You all thought it would be great to have a president "you could have a beer with".

Well, that guy turned out to be Barney from The Simpsons.

[ComnCents]

And for years, people have been saying that King George is a political genius.

[Terriac]

Once again, more proof that he is a complete idiot.

[hiNY]

Bush is a clown, I swear! I do not blame him a second for what has happened in this country for the last seven years. It is as though America got together and said, 'let us see how much damage the worst of us can do to this country.' The only thing the man can do is be inefficient, we should not blame him for the mess, at least the organized mess, because I do not think he is capable of it.

[calijon]

HuffPost's Pick

things like this are another reason i'll vote obama. i expect the president to hold himself to a higher standard than i hold myself to. i'd be likely to make stupid jokes like these and McCains but a president never should. the right calls obama aloof, i call it dignified.

[blaqntelligence]

Agreed.
I second huffpost.....

[lochnessmonster]

I wish they would all stay off the "talk shows". I think it is undignified for them to be yucking it up on late night TV.