Bush's Vietnam coffee break

Yea, I'm way behind in my blogging, so tonight and tomorrow where will be some quick hits a bout a few things that are a bit older, then I will be coming on with lots of ferocity between now and this weekend.

It was awfully interesting to read about and see President Bush's visit to Vietnam in late November. (Above, reviewing Vietnamese soldiers in Hanoi during his arrival.) Am I the only one who saw an overwhelming irony in his visit to the country he avoided going to in the 60s, yet we are mired in a war in the Middle East that resembles our disastrous foray into Southeast Asia.

Bush's visit to Vietnam could not have been more different than President Clinton's in 2000.

For instance...

In 2000, the Clintons mingled with thousands of Vietnamese in the streets. Hillary Clinton even stopped into a silk shop in Hanoi to great fanfare. The Bushes failed to do the same or even anything like it. Take a read on this story from the New York Times during their visit:

The Hadong Silk shop in this city's Old Quarter is the first port of call for well-heeled visitors on the hunt for the tailor-made silkwares for which Vietnam has become famous. This weekend, with heads of state from 21 countries in town for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, a parade of dignitaries streamed in for fittings of made-to-order shirts, dresses and suits.

Laureen Harper, the wife of Canada's prime minister, Stephen Harper, showed up on Friday, made a few purchases and signed the guestbook for Dang Thi Thu Thuy, the petite, exquisitely dressed owner. Ditto for Australia's first lady, Janette Howard.

But Mrs. Thuy was searching for more. "We really hope that Mrs. Bush will come into our store," she says. "We are waiting for her, but she hasn't come."

The walls of Hadong Silk are lined with giant framed photos of Hillary Rodham Clinton, who came to the shop during Mr. Clinton's visit in 2000. There is a photo of Mrs. Clinton towering over three saleswomen, another of her standing next to Mrs. Thuy, both clad in silk suits, and one upstairs of her, surrounded by Secret Service agents, perusing silk blouses.

Vu Thi Thu Huong, a saleswoman, said the shop was so excited after Mrs. Clinton left, having bought 10 raw silk shirts for her husband, that the distinctive square collar on their men's silk shirts was renamed the "Bill Clinton Collar."

So, will there be a "George Bush Collar"?

Mrs. Thuy shrugged. "I'm not sure," she said. She gestured to her camera, and said, "If she comes we will take her picture, too."

In many ways, Bush's visit typified his presidency - the superficial, photo-op, highly staged event so we can tell the American people he visited a country and that "we're making progress" on Viet-raq. Yite!

Simply more Bush boilerplate.

Bush White House flagged for stupidity

Evidently, the dopes at the White House think the flag above is the Vietnamese flag. The official White House Website, posting a story about President Bush's visit to Vietnam, posted this flag with an accompanying story. Too bad it's the flag of South Vietnam, a country that hasn't existed for 31 years. What's worse, the flag is highly offensive to most Vietnamese, and most definitely to the leaders of Vietnam.

Had these morons done ANY checking, they would have discovered...


...that THIS is the official flag of Vietnam. And it took me inside of two minutes of poking around on Wikipedia. Real tough stuff. Hey, maybe the Internets were down at the White House the day they posted the story. Then again, maybe not.

This isn't the first time that the president's staff has suffered an embarrassing faux pas. Earlier this year, Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington was marked by a string of missteps, slights, carelessly thought out events and downright stupidity.

The low point during his visit, as reported Here in the Washington Post, was when the White House issued press credentials to a Falun Gong activist, who interrupted the Chinese leader's press conference, shouting, "President Hu, your days are numbered!" and "President Bush, stop him from killing!"

Making matters worse, the Chinese had warned the White House to be careful about who it permitted to attend the press conference. As it turned out, the same activist who interrupted Hu's press conference had heckled his predecessor in Malta five years ago.

Nice job researching and securing a visit by a world leader, people. Can you IMAGINE the uproar in the press had this happened to a U.S. President visiting China? Fox News would want to declare World War III on China.

But, the administration's uncouth manner didn't stop there. How about Dick Cheney donning sunglasses for a ceremony for Hu, or the announcer saying that the band would play the "national anthem of the Republic of China" - the official name of Taiwan. Taiwan!

Bush also wouldn't even give Hu an official state visit - no formal dinner in the State Dining Room, no Chinese flags flying near the lampposts, as is customary.

This is how we treat the next superpower? People and countries don't forget this stuff.

My point is that the Vietnamese flag mistake isn't some isolated incident. Many in this administration are simply morons; college-educated idiots. Just because you have a college degree doesn't mean you're smart - President Bush is the embodiment of that principle.

I have no way to confirm this, but I hear the White House has an article with an accompanying flag ready for Bush's next visit to Germany.


Honestly, would you really put it past these people?