Winning hearts and minds
Add India's prime minister to the list of people giving President Dumbass a hard time for not visiting the Taj Mahal.
As the leaders toasted each other and their nation's ties Thursday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh briefly paused and addressed the Bubble Boy's wife, Pickles Stepford.
"'I am truly sorry the president is not taking you to Taj Mahal this time,' Singh said. 'I hope he will be more chivalrous next time you are here.'"
Locals can't forget the last time an American president visited India. Back in 2000, President Clinton spent nearly a week touring the country, famously visiting rural villages and wowing Indian politicians during a speech before the Parliament.
Bush's visit this week will be speedy and meticulously coordinated. Indeed, the president won't even visit the Taj Mahal--an omission he blamed on the White House scheduler. 'If I were the scheduler, maybe I'd do things differently,' he told a group of Indian journalists last week. It's something that has puzzled the locals, at a time when Bush hopes to deepen economic and political ties with the world's largest democracy. It also frustrates his own aides, who have repeatedly pushed the president to spend time on the softer, cultural side of his foreign travel. According to those aides, it is the president -- not his scheduler -- who cannot be convinced to carve out time to respect the local culture.
"'I am truly sorry the president is not taking you to Taj Mahal this time,' Singh said. 'I hope he will be more chivalrous next time you are here.'"
Locals can't forget the last time an American president visited India. Back in 2000, President Clinton spent nearly a week touring the country, famously visiting rural villages and wowing Indian politicians during a speech before the Parliament.
Bush's visit this week will be speedy and meticulously coordinated. Indeed, the president won't even visit the Taj Mahal--an omission he blamed on the White House scheduler. 'If I were the scheduler, maybe I'd do things differently,' he told a group of Indian journalists last week. It's something that has puzzled the locals, at a time when Bush hopes to deepen economic and political ties with the world's largest democracy. It also frustrates his own aides, who have repeatedly pushed the president to spend time on the softer, cultural side of his foreign travel. According to those aides, it is the president -- not his scheduler -- who cannot be convinced to carve out time to respect the local culture.
No comments:
Post a Comment