Cold War Off Again. Kind of.
June 8, 2007 2:13 AM   Subscribe

The problem with having a not-very-bright President. Reuters' report kindly seeks the opinion of the Heritage Foundation's Russia desk for what this means. Bloomberg's goes here. Financial Times (UK) asks Pavel Felgenhauer, Moscow Defense Analyst, who writes for Novaya Gazeta. Former Head of KGB: 1 Former Head of CIA, by Proxy: 0 (would that it were so simple...)
posted by From Bklyn (23 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: come on, wtf already. -- jessamyn



 

Last night on the news there was a great clip of Bush and Merkel sitting at a conference table, running behind the newscaster.

In the clip, Bush picks up a bottle of what looks like beer (Oh ho? I think) and dumps the entire contents in Merkel's glass.

The glass overflows. Merkel has not yet noticed, and then the video cuts away.

"Amazing." I thought. I spent all too much time trying to find the clip.
posted by From Bklyn at 2:18 AM on June 8, 2007



This Reuters video comes close.
posted by From Bklyn at 3:55 AM on June 8, 2007


This Reuters video shows Mr. Bush overfilling the glass and then sipping the foam off the top.

Your video, From Bklyn, shows just how bored Bush is at these types of things. At least the other leaders show a little interest in what the speakers are saying. Bush is just staring off into space and fiddling with candy like a kid at a function his parents dragged him to. I'm sure a lot of the stuff is boring, but shit George pretend like you give a shit.
posted by birdherder at 4:11 AM on June 8, 2007


I'm confused. The "not very bright president" (unless it's a quote) crack has nothing to do with this post. Folks may think GWB is dumb, but that's really neither here nor there in terms of this missile defense program. It is not prima facie dumb, and neither is the idea of putting it in Eastern Europe.

I would only point out that, um, Azerbaijan is not part of Russia, despite what Putin may think...
posted by MarshallPoe at 4:20 AM on June 8, 2007


This Reuters video shows Mr. Bush overfilling the glass and then sipping the foam off the top.

That video is interesting since Bush is an admitted alcoholic. I also think it is his own glass. Merkel appears to have her own wine glass. That said this post is a big WTF and probably headed for the bin.
posted by srboisvert at 4:28 AM on June 8, 2007


Motherfucker's bright enough to have rolled back some of your civil liberties. Whatever he does with whoever's beer.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:34 AM on June 8, 2007 [2 favorites]


It's pretty clearly his own drink--he takes a sip of it after pouring. I assume it's some kind of non-alcoholic beer, but I don't recognize the label. Might be interesting to identify it.
posted by EarBucket at 4:38 AM on June 8, 2007


Might be interesting to identify it.
posted by EarBucket


You have a low threshold for interesting.
posted by gtr at 4:55 AM on June 8, 2007


Interesting... from the NYT ... President Bush became ill with a mild stomach ailment Friday morning, forcing him to skip some working sessions ... “He’s not 100 percent but he felt well enough to return to the talks,” Mr. Bartlett said. He said the ailment was likely a stomach virus, and not a reaction to the summit food.
posted by RMD at 5:04 AM on June 8, 2007


I'd also like to know exactly what Bush is drinking in the video. It's probably a near-beer, since the shape of the bottle is different from what everyone else has. Not even Bush would be dumb enough to be caught drinking alcohol on camera after coming out as a teetotaler and recovering alcoholic... would he?
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:10 AM on June 8, 2007


. Folks may think GWB is dumb, but that's really neither here nor there in terms of this missile defense program. It is not prima facie dumb, and neither is the idea of putting it in Eastern Europe.

The dumb part is the Bush was unprepared to be out-manoeuvered by Putin with his Azerbaijan proposal. Bush and his inner circle wasn't thinking ahead. They just thought, "in the 80s we wanted a missile shield to protect against Russia. Let's try that again."

President Bush became ill with a mild stomach ailment Friday morning, forcing him to skip some working sessions

Given Bush's consistent boredom at these things, this claim is pretty comparable to cutting a bad date short by feigning illness.
posted by deanc at 5:10 AM on June 8, 2007


Looks like a Buckler. It's a non-alcoholic beer make by Heineken.
posted by Lazlo Hollyfeld at 5:19 AM on June 8, 2007


I kind of thought 'not very bright' has everything to do with this recent turn of events.

If his role is to represent the US to the world he (and by extension 'we') was just made to look foolish by Putin. As a figure-head he comes across as, at best, dis-interested in the entire conference.

If his role is to protect the interests of business cronies who want the contracts to build missle bases in Eastern Europe, he's made everything more complicated by now involving Russia. Now any outcome, Azeri radar or no, will be delayed.

If his role is meerly to trumpet what ever silliness is whispered in his ear (see Heritage Foundation link) he has been not bright enough avoid associating with a group that has the best interest of a tiny group at heart, a tiny group that perhaps is not so interested in the US Constitution.

And Motherfucker's bright enough to have rolled back some of your civil liberties. A crime of opporunity does not require smarts, and we'll see how that all works out for him in the long run. I'm putting my money on "Not so great." I'm an optimist.
posted by From Bklyn at 5:28 AM on June 8, 2007


If he drinks non-alcoholic beer, need we seek further evidence he is a moron?
posted by Astro Zombie at 5:41 AM on June 8, 2007


Well, the fucker can't pour a beer. I know he probably has people do that for him at the Whitehouse, but did he not remember anything from the fraternity days?

*conspiracy: Bush was drinking beer, went back to this room and emptied the minibar. Which was why he was too sick to be in the meetings the next morning. *
posted by birdherder at 6:05 AM on June 8, 2007


There's an old indian legend that Chief Tecumseh cursed the white man years ago so that whoever is president at the end of every twenty-year cycle will die in office (and they have. Look it up). GWB was the next in line, but nobody's shot him to death yet (which boggles the mind). Can we not hope that indian legends still carry some weight in the world? Can we not still trust spooky forces to get things done?

Here's to Chief Tecumseh.
*raises glass of near-beer*

Also, "Motherfucker's bright enough to have rolled back some of your civil liberties." I may be way off here, but I wouldn't put a whole lot of money on GWB's responsibility for having done much of anything. He's a finger puppet for much smarter men. I just can't figure out why they chose such an obvious boob to be their front man.
posted by Pecinpah at 6:16 AM on June 8, 2007


What happens in Heiligendamm stays in Heiligendamm.
posted by RMD at 6:17 AM on June 8, 2007


this missile defense program. It is not prima facie dumb, and neither is the idea of putting it in Eastern Europe.

You can't be serious.
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:20 AM on June 8, 2007


*conspiracy: Bush was drinking beer, went back to this room and emptied the minibar. Which was why he was too sick to be in the meetings the next morning. *

He got a hold of some "bad ice" as we say around these parts.
posted by ND¢ at 6:21 AM on June 8, 2007


Uh...no one's died in office since JFK, so I guess that the curse is broken? I remember an article way back during the Reagan era that said every president elected in a year ending in "0" had died in office, going back to like...I dunno, FAR...but Reagan broke that one. (He was, of course, shot in office, so he came close to not breaking it.)
posted by kittens for breakfast at 6:24 AM on June 8, 2007


About "not very bright" and missile defense. "Outmaneuvered" is very doubtful. We offered to share the tech with them, and they refused. They did because they certainly couldn't build it and probably couldn't maintain it without our help, and that would put them in a position of dependence, which they don't want. So they say "Build it in one of our satellites." Right. Like I want a key part of American missile defense in a Russian puppet state. An air base in Central Asia is one thing, but a radar installation protecting European and American cities is another. Having spend a good deal of time in the USSR and Russia, I can tell you that even a "joint" Russian-American installation is probably bad idea, unless you want it broken down all the time. I don't.
posted by MarshallPoe at 6:24 AM on June 8, 2007


This is one of the most poorly worded posts I've seen in a long while. And because the clumsy and obfuscatory wording was obviously intended to be “clever”, yet pitifully failing in the attempt, it's egregiously nonsensical. Don't ever do this again. Just post your fucking LOLBUSH, lede-of-the-day, NewsFilter shite in a straightforward manner and be done with it.

Yeah, that Bush guy? Moron. I was in danger of momentarily forgetting this crucial fact for the first time in ten years. Thankfully, your post arrived just in time to avert that catastrophe.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 6:25 AM on June 8, 2007


Kittens: yeah, I forgot to mention the Reagan thing. Getting shot's not the same as being killed, sure.

Also, it's called the Tippecanoe curse and, yes, you can find it on that virtual tabernacle of knowledge, wikipedia.
posted by Pecinpah at 6:32 AM on June 8, 2007


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