Yet another Bushfire

Bush: I think Condi Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is going to go to the Middle East pretty soon.

Blair: Right, that8217;s all that matters, it will take some time to get that together. See, if she goes out she8217;s got to succeed as it were, where as I can just go out and talk.

Bush: See, the irony is what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit and it8217;s over.

Head to headline

Possibly in celebration of the discovery that world leaders do have candid conversations at these parties, the US media has been gentle with the latest manifestation of the president8217;s gaffe. Examples:

8226; 8216;It was frank talk, no bull8217; Chicago Tribune

8226; 8216;Bush8217;s open mike catches tough talk8217; USA Today

8226; 8216;Bush curses Hezbollah attack8217; Washington Post

8226; 8216;Bush8217;s trash talk is heard8217; Newsday

8226; 8216;Bush-Blair conversation goes global8217; Houston Chronicle

Feet in the mouth

The good humour may well be born of familiarity. Consider what the media, and the public at large, have coped with recently8230;

8226; I think8212;tide turning8212;see, as I remember8212;I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of8212;it8217;s easy to see a tide turn8212;did I say those words?
On being asked if the tide was turning in Iraq, Washington DC, June 14

8226; Trying to stop suiciders8212;which we8217;re doing a pretty good job of on occasion8212;is difficult to do. And what the Iraqis are going to have to eventually do is convince those who are conducting suiciders who are not inspired by Al Qaeda, for example, to realise there8217;s a peaceful tomorrow.
In Washington DC, May 24

8226; I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound largemouth bass in my lake.
On his best moment in office in an interview with Bild in Sonntag, May 7

8226; You never know what your history is going to be like until long after you8217;re gone.
In Washington DC, May 5

8226; The point now is how do we work together to achieve important goals. And one such goal is a democracy in Germany.
In Washington DC, May 5

8226; Finally, the desk, where we8217;ll have our picture taken in front of8212;is nine other Presidents used it. This was given to us by Queen Victoria in the 1870s, I think it was. President Roosevelt put the door in so people would not know he was in a wheelchair. John Kennedy put his head out the door.
Showing German newspaper reporter Kai Diekmann the Oval Office, May 5

8226; I was not pleased that Hamas has refused to announce its desire to destroy Israel.
In Washington DC, May 4

8226; I8217;m the decider, and I decide what is best. And what8217;s best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the Secretary of Defense.
In Washington DC, April 18

8226; If the Iranians were to have a nuclear weapon they could proliferate.
In Washington DC, March 21

8226; After the bombing, most Iraqis saw what the perpetuators of this attack were trying to do.
On the bombing of the Golden Mosque of Samarra in Iraq, in Washington, March 13

8226; People don8217;t need to worry about security. This deal wouldn8217;t go forward if we were concerned about the security for the United States of America.
On the deal to hand over US port security to a company operated by the UAE in Washington DC, February 23

8226; I like my buddies from west Texas. I liked them when I was young, I liked them then I was middle-age, I liked them before I was president, and I like them during president, and I like them after president.
In Nashville, Tennessee, February 1

8226; You took an oath to defend our flag and our freedom, and you kept that oath underseas and under fire.
Addressing war veterans, Washington DC, January 10