Germany won't play by our rules

During his trip to Germany on Wednesday, the main highlight of George W. Bush's trip was meant to be a "town hall"-style meeting with average Germans.

But with the German government unwilling to permit a scripted event with questions approved in advance, the White House has quietly put the event on ice.
  Spiegel online article

About time somebody quit bowing and scraping. But I'm still wondering about their acceptance of the outrageous "security measures".

A few weeks ago, the Bush administration had declared that the chat -- which could have brought together tradesmen, butchers, bank employees, students and all other types to discuss trans-Atlantic relations -- would be the cornerstone of President George W. Bush's brief trip to Germany.

Apparently simply assuming that the Germans would accept the restrictive terms, because....doesn't everybody just do what we want them to? Paris did it for Condi the Lip. (That brilliant move of renaming french fries must have convinced them we are not a country to be trifled with.)

Bush's invasion of Iraq and his diplomatic handling of the nuclear dispute with Iran has drawn widespread concern and criticism among the German public. And during a press conference two weeks ago, Bush said Washington is still terribly misunderstood in Europe.

Oh, terribly misunderstood.

In the end, the town hall meeting was never officially dropped from the agenda of the trip -- instead it was dealt with in polished diplomatic style -- both sides just stopped talking about it.

[...]

Bush will now meet with a well-heeled group of so-called "young leaders."

[...]

[T]here won't be any butchers or handymen on the elite guest list, but rather young co-workers from blue chip companies like automaker DaimlerChrysler, Deutsche Bank or the consultancy McKinsey. The fact that two American organizations are the ones managing the guest list suggests that the chat won't be overly critical of Bush.

[...]

Close to 20 participants will participate in the exclusive round to be held in the opulent Mozart Hall of a former royal palace in Mainz, giving them the opportunity for a close encounter with the president. The chat is being held under the slogan: "A new chapter for trans-Atlantic relations." The aim of the meeting is to give these "young leaders" a totally different impression of George W. Bush. In order to guarantee an open exchange, the round has been closed to journalists -- ensuring that any embarrassments will be confined to a small group.

Too late. All of Blue State America is embarrassed.

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