'ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - It wasn't meant to be overheard. Private luncheon conversations among world leaders, picked up by a microphone, provided a rare window into both banter and substance — including
President Bush cursing Hezbollah's attacks against
Israel
[...]
"See the irony is that what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this (expletive) and it's over," Bush told Blair as he chewed on a buttered roll.
[...]
The unscripted comments came during a photo opportunity at the lunch. The leaders clearly did not realize that a live microphone was picking up their discussion. '
I'm not blown away by this story, but I've got three comments about it:
1) Journalistic standards, these days, concern me. "Bush curses Hezbollah" is one of the weaker examples of misleading titles or content, but it reminds me of the many examples that have come to-light, in recent months. If you haven't heard me complaining about it, recently, you probably will some time in the future.
2) Did Bush MEAN to be heard? The article actually says, flat-out, that it's clear that these leaders didn't know their comments were in range of an active microphone. Part of me suspects that this might not be true, but I don't know.
3) If Bush DIDN'T mean to be overheard, it's really unfortunate that he's so unaware - and that he represents the rest of us when he so poorly represents himself.
That's all.
What do YOU think?
4 comments:
I don't think he knew. Looking at the news footage, Blair looked pretty frazzled when he learned that the mic was on and he quickly turned it off. Bush is inept and spacey, but not clever enough to "act" like he was unaware of a live mic.
It's hard to peg him as a bright guy or a dim bulb (although I usually lean toward choosing the latter descriptor for him).
the whole story's kind of wierd...i don't think he meant to be heard otherwise he wouldn't have used an explative...
BUT it does seem very strange.
--RC of strangeculture.blogspot.com
I dunno, rc.
Didn't Cheney do it a year or so back? He didn't seem to care.
Besides, Bush has been "overheard" before, I think, and it somehow gives the person something of a pass when their expletives weren't intended to be heard by the masses.
Of course, this wasn't the case for folks like Nancy Kerrigan, but that just goes to show how exceptional this administration is.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not fans of theirs, at all, but they're the most bullet-proof 4%$#^@ %@$&&ers ever to walk the planet.
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