Some more Summit tidbits

Bush, who returned to the White House on Tuesday night, sounded tired and bored at the few public appearances during his 28-hour visit. His remarks had unusually long pauses. Cutaway television shots captured Bush glowering into space as other heads of state talked about "economic growth with equity to reduce poverty," "investing in people" and "democratic governance."

One of the million great things about being president is that you rarely have to listen to people who bore you. Dignitaries who introduce Bush are asked to limit their remarks to one minute. Bush praises those who are quicker, and his aides have been known to scold those who run over.

But "international summit" means "plenary session," and Bush had to sit through speech after speech by his detractors -- most notably Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who had infuriated the Bush brigade over the weekend by describing national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, who is considered family by the Bushes, as "illiterate."

During the summit's inauguration ceremony Monday, Chavez was supposed to speak for three minutes, but he rambled on about his time in jail, his taste in economics books and supposed mischaracterizations of him. He referred to the Free Trade Area of the Americas, a proposed hemisphere-wide, low-barrier trade zone strongly backed by the White House, as "an infernal machinery that, minute by minute, produces an impressive number of poor."   article

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.