Blundering Down Under

By Libby

I haven't seen much in the US press or around Blogtopia about Bush's visit to Austrailia. Our Imperial Highness arrived with his posse of 700, which included 250 Secret Service agents and 350 beltway bureaucrats. They descended in 3 jumbo jets along with two gigantic cargo planes carrying 2 back up Air Force Ones, two helicopters and a fleet of cars. Can't be too prepared I guess.

It didn't take long for our Braggart in Chief to make a fool of himself. Here's a little slide show with an audio overdub of his remarks during the first day of his visit. Bush was in fine form, counting out his pasta for the local press and of course, no state visit is complete without a mind-crisping little bike ride to balance his life.

But he saved his big gaffes for his prepared remarks to the assembly, which was delayed for ten minutes while they rousted people out of the balconies in order to fill the front row seats that nobody wanted to take. After thanking John Howard for hosting this OPEC summit, and for providing Austrian troops for his mess in Mesopotamia, he strode confidently away from the microphone -- in the wrong direction. Only a quick redirect from Howard saved him from tumbling over a steep drop off the stage. [video here]

Meanwhile, Shakes fondly remembers International Booberies Past. This is our president. What a heckuva guy.