Thursday, February 10, 2005

Maybe he should read a bit more

US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) often calls Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski "friend," but he bestowed a different title as they met in the Oval Office: "Mr Prime Minister."

Referring to a possible end to a longstanding dispute over visas for Polish citizens travelling to the United States, Bush said: "I want to thank you for your leadership on that issue, Mr Prime Minister."

Kwasniewski did not seem troubled, but he quietly said "president," prompting Bush to correct himself quickly: "I mean, Mr President. Excuse me."

"I demoted him," Bush quipped, adding: "Well, it's not a demotion. It's a lateral transfer."

The US president occasionally has trouble with world leaders' titles and sometimes their names.

On Monday, he referred to newly elected Palestinian Preident Mahmud Abbas as "prime minister," and in several speeches last week referred to him as "Abu Abbas" -- an apparent mix-up with Abbas' alias, "Abu Mazen."
  article

If you're American and you're not embarrassed by your president, well...

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