Bush was also interviewed by French television.
Asked if Franco-American relations have been changed by Sarkozy replacing Chirac, he explained very carefully, and with OTHER WORDS, that despite both of them being, you know, French and shit, they’re actually different people: “In the sense that every individual matters. In other words, I’ve dealt with a lot of foreign leaders, and some -- and each person brings their own set of personalities and values.” Thank you for that deep psychological insight into the human condition, George.
Sarkozy, he said, is “like me, he wants to solve problems: Here is a problem; let’s go solve it.”
“And I can’t thank President Sarkozy enough for sending the foreign minister to Baghdad, which basically said, we want to help you survive.”
Asked about the imminence of war with Iran: “I don’t know where you’re getting all these rumors -- there must be some weird things going on in Europe these days”. In Europe? Mais non!
But what happens, he is asked, “if the sanctions and the threats do not work”. “I’m not so sure I agree with your hypothesis, that ‘if they don’t work.’ I’m the kind of guy that says, let’s make sure they do work.”
Asked if removing the counter-weight of a strong Iraq didn’t vastly increase Iran’s power, he took a deep hit off his crack-pipe and said, “I think that, ultimately, they’re going to feel pressure about the type of government they have when their people look across the border and see a flourishing, free society.”
Later in the day, he held a press conference with Sarkozy.
He said that he’d finally talked to Musharraf. “And my message was that we believe strongly in elections, and that you ought to have elections soon, and you need to take off your uniform.” As Eli of LeftI points out, he evidently didn’t suggest that Musharraf end martial law, restore the Constitution, the Supreme Court, freedom of the press, release political prisoners, etc etc. Just the naked elections.
Asked by a French reporter about the Iraqi quagmire, Bush once again pulled out his trusty crack-pipe, inhaled deeply, and replied, “I don’t -- you know, ‘quagmire’ is an interesting word.” Adding, “and have you ever looked at your hands, I mean really looked at them?” Okay, what he really said, which is significantly more batshit out-of-
He denied that his threats against Iran are responsible for the price of oil, insisting, “I believe oil prices are going up because the demand for oil outstrips the supply for oil.” He’s an MBA, you know.
Addressing the Iranians, he explained that he was just looking for someone to talk to who isn’t, you know, crazy: “we will work together to try to find if there’s not rational people inside your government who are tired of isolation and who believe there’s a better way forward.”
MAYBE A LITTLE TOO COMFORTABLE: “And so when you ask, am I comfortable with the Sarkozy government sending messages -- you bet I’m comfortable.”
What message is Sarkozy sending here?
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