"A mysterious change seems to come over Americans when they go to a foreign land. They isolate themselves socially. They live pretentiously. They’re loud and ostentatious. Perhaps they’re frightened and defensive, or maybe they’re not properly trained and make mistakes out of ignorance." — The Ugly American, William Lederer & Eugene Burdick
I’m going to go with "not properly trained".
Our President is really doing a bang-up job representing our country at the G8. First, he cusses, while talking with his mouth full, and displays a frightingly childlike view of the current Middle East crisis.
On the heels of that, German newspapers are talking about our President invaded the personal space of German Chancellor Angela Merkel by giving her an uninvited neck rub …or something.
Everybody recognizes the guy who sidles up and starts "casually" gives a woman a backrub without even looking at her, because he wants to preserve deniability in case she freaks out. That’s exactly what happened here.
Is Bush trying to out-Clinton Clinton?
UPDATE: German captions translated here.
MORE: Green Knight:
So let’s keep score. On this trip alone, Bush has
- Made a fool of himself over a roast pig.
- Been rebuked publicly by Vladimir Putin.
- Showed everyone that he chews with his mouth open and talks with his mouth full.
- Said "shit" on camera.
- And now, attempted to assert quasi-sexualized dominance over an international leader.
All of this, while demonstrating that he has no idea what to do about the crisis in the Middle East, or any ability to affect it.