‘"Today, we had a meeting at the White House of some
of the top educators from all around the country and I asked them the one
question that nobody’s been askin’: Is our children learning?" Then he can
look genuinely surprised and puzzled when the audience starts laughing. It will
all come so naturally to him.
Or he could talk about how hard
he’s working to strengthen the economy to "put food on the American
people." Or he could tell us how he has warned "outsiders" not
to meddle in the internal affairs of sovereign Iraq. Again, the laughter will
likely take him by surprise and when he reacts with surprise it will evoke
further laughter.
Or he might explain how we are
waging war in various parts of the world to spread democracy, because
democracies are more peaceful. Democratic governments don’t invade their
neighbors or spy on their own citizens. More laughter. More surprise, evoking
still more laughter.
Eat your heart out, Leno.’
And Now: He-e-e-e-re’s
Georgie!
English porridge
From the NY Times
[re the visit of Condi in Blackburn]
....................
In front of City Hall a little earlier, Mayor Yusef Janvirmani, a native of Uganda, stood on the steps, resplendent in his ceremonial red robes, the heavy gold mayor's medallion suspended from his neck. He seemed unsure what to do as he prepared to welcome Blackburn's most prominent foreign visitor in decades. He decided to shake hands with the protesters behind the barricades as if he were working a rope line. "I'm delighted they are here," he told reporters. "I am against the war and will tell her that."
"But," he added, "having the secretary of state here is good for the economy."
the three stooges conquer the two .....
The President as Average Joe .....
Trying to Boost Support, Bush Brings Banter to the People
By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 2, 2006; Page A04
President Bush was taking
questions from an audience the other day when he was asked about the
immigration debate raging in Washington.
"It's obviously topic du
jour," he said.
The audience laughed at the
famously Francophobic Texan's faux accent.
"Pretty fancy, huh?"
Bush asked, mocking himself. "Topic du jour ?"
The audience laughed again.
....................
Bush often plays the rube.
When Melia got up last week, the
president cut him off before his question. "You're going to ask me if
I read the book," Bush said.
"I gave the president a copy
of our annual report, 'Freedom in the World,' before he took the
stage," Melia explained to the audience.
The president gave his instant
review: "Little print, no pictures."
Melia did not miss a beat and
compared it to another book Bush likes
to cite. "It's the bible of freedom," Melia said.
When the crowd laughed, Bush
protested, " I'm the funny guy."
Read more at the Washington Post
Can't win them all...
From the BBC
Analysis: How the US 'lost' Latin America
As the BBC begins a special series on Latin America, Newsnight presenter Gavin Esler gives his view on the region's leftward trend and its changing relationship with the US.
There is trouble ahead for Uncle Sam in his own backyard. Big trouble.
It is one of the most important and yet largely untold stories of our world in 2006. George W Bush has lost Latin America.
While the Bush administration has been fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, relations between the United States and the countries of Latin America have become a festering sore - the worst for years.
read more at the BBC