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The president went to South America to counter suggestions of arrogance but shambles at dinner leaves his hosts unimpressed. ...snip... The cancellation came after days of mounting disputes between Mr Bush's security detail and the Chilean palace guard, a branch of the Carabineros paramilitary police force. A senior Chilean diplomat told a local newspaper, El Mercurio: "President Lagos considered it unacceptable that the principal leaders of the nation, and distinguished business leaders should be forced to submit to an inspection that approached humiliation." Both sides accused the other of over-zealousness, with Chilean officials mocking US agents for peering and reaching...

I don't have additional info, just that Santorum will run for majority leader

Anyone want to watch SNL and poke fun of Al?

They called Ronald Reagan a cowboy, too. He was trigger-happy, bullheaded and, as the left would have it, quite dim. Just like George W. Bush. President Reagan's obsession, of course, was the Soviet Union, the "most evil enemy mankind has known." Stop them now, he once declared, or we'll all descend into "the ant heap of totalitarianism." Initially, he was cause for alarm. I remember seeing him at a campaign stop in Milwaukee where he lathered up his audience so much with Commie-hating banter that a man near him shouted, "Drop the Big One, Ronnie. Drop the Big One!" The...

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien got along swimmingly with United States President Bill Clinton – they were golfing buddies – but the latest dust-up in Prague when Françoise Ducros, one of Chrétien’s top aides, allegedly called President George W. Bush “a moron,” probably better reflects the relationships of our leaders over the years. In his book The Presidents and the Prime Ministers, author Lawrence Martin mentions how John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, “would alienate all of Washington with displays of contempt for the presidents and their men.” Indeed, the subtitle of Martin’s book catches the true spirit of relations...

The Players: The President. The President's Physician. The Presidential Press Secretary. The First Lady. The National Security Adviser. The Scene: The upstairs residence of The White House, where the President of the United States has, by the mercy of Heaven, survived an attack by a killer pretzel. The President sits quietly on a brocaded couch, idly scratching a dog's head. The other Players huddle nearby, talking in hushed tones. Physician, to First Lady: ``He's fine now, ma'am. I'm sure it was frightening to him, and to all of you, but there appears to be no damage and no further ...

A man's gotta chew A pretzel made President Bush faint - but is America's favourite snack really a lethal weapon? Oliver Burkeman investigates Tuesday January 15, 2002The Guardian Two weeks ago, beneath the riotous neons of Times Square, New York police officers were on alert, scanning the crowds of New Year revellers with radiation detectors. They feared that a terrorist might detonate a "dirty" nuclear bomb. But the real threat to US national security, it turns out, may have been lingering two blocks away, in an anonymous warehouse of corrugated iron and twisted barbed wire in Manhattan's meat-packing district. ...

Text of President's address to the nation ISLAMABAD, Jan 12 (APP): Following is the English rendering of President General Pervez Musharraf's address to the nation on Saturday Jan 12, 2002: (TEXT BEGINS) I begin in the name of God the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful Pakistani Brothers and Sisters! As you would remember, eversince I assumed office, I launched a campaign to rid the society of extremism, violence and terrorism and strived to project Islam in its true perspective. In my first speech on October 17, 1999, I had said and I quote; "Islam teaches tolerance, not hatred; universal brotherhood, ...

In his first assessment of the condition of the federal judiciary since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and subsequent anthrax threat, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist said yesterday that the courts "have gotten back to business, even if not business as usual" but still need swift action by the Senate on President Bush's judicial nominations. The assessment came in Rehnquist's annual report on the federal courts published yesterday. He has cited the confirmation backlog in past reports. The tragic events of 2001, however, have made resolving the problems more urgent, Rehnquist said. "During times such as these, the role ...

ORLANDO, Dec. 4 -- Maybe it was the fog of war. Maybe it was the stress of facing questioners in his first town hall-style meeting as president. Whatever the cause, President Bush today did something very naughty. He insulted his mother. Worse, he did it without provocation, when one woman in the crowd of 4,000 at the Orlando Convention Center asked about the virtues of families eating meals together. "I did eat with my family -- so long as my mom wasn't cooking," the president said of the former first lady and wife of his father. Audience members groaned. Brother ...

...Your Christmas Cards say "Happy Holidays. You have Anthrax." I thought the Ashworth/Bush skit was pretty funny tonight. Any humorous additions to what they said?

<p>ASHINGTON - The call from Andrea Ball, Laura Bush's chief of staff, was urgent: Could 12 Afghan women, in Washington for a leadership workshop, dash over to the White House to meet with her?</p> <p>Melanne Verveer, head of an international women's leadership group and Hillary Rodham Clinton's top staff member when her husband was president, was happy to oblige. She hurried the women out of a session on communication skills and led them to the mansion.</p>

By Pav JordanGUANAJUATO, Mexico (Reuters) - Former U.S. President George Bush said on Friday that his son was conducting a far more complex war in Afghanistan (news - web sites) than the Gulf War (news - web sites) against Iraq in 1991.The elder Bush, who sent U.S. forces to war against Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s Iraq 10 years ago, said Iraq and other ``rogue states'' still posed a serious threat to peace.``When I was president we knew where the enemy was,'' Bush said during a visit to Mexico. ``This is a much more complicated problem that my son ...

WASHINGTON (AP) -President Bush (news - web sites) and his wife, Laura, heard an earful of criticisms of politicians and journalists Thursday night and laughed through much of it. The Bushes attended a performance of ``Mark Twain Tonight!,'' a one-man show that highlights Mark Twain's political commentary and literary accomplishments. The play, in which Hal Holbrook reprised his Tony Award-winning Broadway role, was part of a celebration of American authors being put together by Mrs. Bush, a former librarian who has spent a great deal of time encouraging children to read. Before the performance, Mrs. Bush said Twain's ``words and ...

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush (news - web sites) will attend the 102nd football game between the Army and Navy academies. ``He can have an enjoyable Saturday, watch a little football, and also express his appreciation to the people who serve our country so valiantly,'' White House press secretary Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) said. The commander in chief will visit both locker rooms for a pre-game pep talk. ``I think it's a combination of messages. One, you know this president is a sports fan. He enjoys getting out and going to ball games. Two, the president has tremendous ...

In a candid conversation, the President and First Lady talk about bin Laden, prayer, civil liberties, exercise, No. 41 and the war ahead It was the day before Thanksgiving, and George and Laura Bush were flying west for a morale-boosting visit to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky. The news from Afghanistan was good and the president was in a relaxed, expansive mood for this interview. Seated at a conference table aboard Air Force One with NEWSWEEK’s Howard Fineman and Martha Brant, the president and First Lady exchanged looks and smiles as they answered questions. She seemed to ...

The First Lady expected to play a quiet role. Then the war came. Dec. 3 issue — After 24 years of marriage, Laura Bush knows how to get her restless husband to calm down and listen. When the president remarked that he wanted Osama bin Laden “dead or alive,” Mrs. Bush thought the macho talk made him look more like a hot-tempered cowboy than a coolheaded statesman. George W. Bush can’t stand being lectured, and the First Lady didn’t try. Instead, she pulled out one of the sharpest weapons in her arsenal of persuasion: humor. Sidling up to him later, ...

The relationship between George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin seems genuine, at least given their stage performances across the nation last week. But it surely provides a study in contrasts. After their visit with students in Crawford on Thursday, where Mr. Bush played the quipster to Mr. Putin's straight man, one reporter asked Bush aide Condoleezza Rice to explain the Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin routine. Ms. Rice snickered along with other journalists at the comparison, but the man was on to something. The two presidents clicked, despite their contrasts. Mr. Bush stood on stage in Crawford looking like the ...

When Gerald Ford turned down New York City's appeal for financial aid, the front page of The Daily News screamed "Ford to City: Drop Dead." Those were the days. These days, only diligent newspaper readers know that George W. Bush has backed off his personal pledge to provide aid to the battered city. And only serious policy wonks know that this is part of a broader picture — that the economic measures now being discussed in Washington will impoverish state and local governments across the country. Gerald Ford didn't really deserve that headline. He had never promised anything to a ...

Getting a jump on tomorrow, let's examine why Democratic and Republican leaders might be thankful – or not so thankful – when they look to next year's Senate elections. With Democrats clinging to a one-vote majority, every race is crucial, and several key decisions already have been made. Fewer than half of the 34 Senate contests are likely to be truly competitive. Democrats must defend most of the targeted seats. Republicans, meanwhile, have a slight edge in the all-important game of candidate recruitment. There have been about a dozen important developments to date, with Republicans getting the better break in ...