Bush does it again: Caught live on mic

Bush frustration sparks expletive

Monday, July 17, 2006 Posted: 1256 GMT (2056 HKT)

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (CNN) -- U.S. President George W. Bush expressed frustration Monday at attempts to get U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to do more to end the conflict in Lebanon.

In the conversation, Bush also says he plans to send U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the Middle East.

During a photo opportunity where there was an open microphone, Bush was heard expressing his frustration to British Prime Minister Tony Blair using an expletive.

Bush and Blair were aware that the event was a photo opportunity and that the media was present. Blair later turned off the microphone.

Earlier in the day, Blair and Annan called for the deployment of an international force in southern Lebanon, in order to end the spiraling conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

The text of their conversation is as follows:

Bush: What about Kofi Annan? I don't like the sequence of it. His attitude is basically cease-fire and everything else happens.

Blair: I think the thing that is really difficult is you can't stop this unless you get this international presence agreed.

Bush: She's going. I think Condi's (U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice) going to go pretty soon.

Blair: Well that's all that matters. If you see, it will take some time to get out of there. But at least it gives people....

Bush: It's a process I agree. I told her your offer too.

Blair: Well it's only or if she's gonna or if she needs the ground prepared as it were. See, if she goes out she's got to succeed as it were, where as I can just go out and talk.

Bush: See the irony is what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this ____ and it's over.

Blair: Cause I think this is all part of the same thing. What does he think? He thinks if Lebanon turns out fine, if he gets a solution in Israel and Palestine, Iraq goes in the right way, he's done it. That's what this whole things about. It's the same with Iran.

Bush: I feel like telling Kofi to get on the phone with Assad and make something happen. We're not blaming Israel and we're not blaming the Lebanese government.


Source:
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/07/17/russia.g8.bushexpletive/
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Our beloved president has done it again, he was caught by a live mic cussing without realizing that he was being heard . It's reminiscent of the remark he made to Cheney during the 2000 election campaign.

The Republican presidential candidate George W Bush has said he regrets the fact that people heard him make an insulting comment about a journalist, but he refused to apologise.

Just before a campaign speech in Illinois, Mr Bush said to his running mate Dick Cheney: "There's Adam Clymer, major league _______ from the New York Times."

Mr Bush later said he did not realise that live microphones were going to pick up the remark, but he stopped short of an actual apology.

A BBC correspondent says that the Texas governor appeared shaken by the gaffe, which came as he started the final phase of campaigning for November's election.

Not the first time

Asked if "calling people names" was part of the campaign, Mr Cheney said: "The governor made a private comment to me."

Mr Bush has been unhappy with several articles by Mr Clymer which were critical of his record.

In response Mr Clymer said: "I'm disappointed in the governor's language."

The BBC Washington correspondent, Philippa Thomas, says that the incident is every politician's nightmare and it has happened to the Texas governor before.

On the campaign trail on Tuesday, Mr Bush returned to his normal agenda, delivering a speech about making medical benefits more widely available.

Democrats' delight

But the Gore campaign was quick to seize on Mr Bush's mistake, with a spokesman declaring that the Democrats had high regard for journalists.

"We hold virtually all members of the Fourth Estate in the highest regard and we believe they should be part of the democratic process day in and day out," Democratic spokesman Chris Lehane said.

"It's the second time in less than a week that the governor has broken his promise to 'change the tone' of the campaign.

"First, he used an ad to attack the vice-president in a very nasty and personal way, now he's used an expletive to attack a member of the working press," added Mr Lehane.


Bushisms from the past:

"There's Adam Clymer, major league _______ from the New York Times"
"I understand small-business growth - I was one"
"Keep good relations with the Grecians"


Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/910614.stm

Further info: http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/bushcuss.asp
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Yeah they happen all right but how often do you see a video with two world leaders talking informally and so strongly about such a crisis? That video also shows how good Bush' manners are....beginning by talking with his mouth full.

 

It's definitely not a big deal since we all cuss at some point, it's just unusual to see this side of a politician who normally controls the media at a press conference since he/she normally is prepared for what questions will be asked of him/her.

Here's the BBC's take on it, they quoted Bush's sentence:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3681938.stm

 

Hmmm that's strange. Anyway, it was a one-time laugh .