posted July 21, 2006 09:31 AM              

Bush's Infamous Back Rub Magnified in Cyberspace
By JAKE COYLE, AP

NEW YORK (July 21) - An impromptu back rub that President Bush gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel is now massaging millions of funny bones.

AP/YouTube

This screen shot downloaded from YouTube shows President Bush giving German Chancellor Angela Merkel the impromptu back rub.

Watch Video: Bush Gets Heat for the 'Merkel Massage'

Talk About It: Post Thoughts

A 5-second video and series of photographs recently posted on YouTube.com and various blogs show Bush surprising Merkel at the G-8 Summit by quickly rubbing the back of her neck and shoulders. The chancellor immediately hunches her shoulders, throws her arms up and grimaces, though she appears to smile as Bush walks away.

The video has been one of the most popular clips on the Web and spawned countless remarks on the particulars of etiquette for world leaders. Coupled with Bush's use of an expletive at the summit and a U.S. senator comparing the Internet to a "series of tubes," the incident reveals anew the power of the Web - and YouTube , specifically -- to beam embarrassing political gaffes around the world.

Larry Sabato, professor of politics at the University of Virginia, agrees that today, public figures have to be more careful in "a thousand ways." But he maintains sites like YouTube can be revealing.

"If they're not doing something that's embarrassing, they have nothing to worry about," he says. "A president ought to know enough not use an expletive in a fairly open meeting and almost any male alive today knows that you don't offer uninvited massages to any female, much less the chancellor of Germany."

Many writers saw a sexist aspect to Bush's back rub. "This isn't a Sigma Chi kegger, it's the G-8 Summit," wrote blogger Christy Hardin Smith on Firedoglake.com.

(Bush was actually in Delta Kappa Epsilon. Another Web 2.0 truism: Blogs are not always friendly with the facts.)

Earlier this week, Bush was recorded using the s-word while discussing the Mideast with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. An mp3 of Bush's line, posted by The New York Times, has been a popular download - ranking two spots ahead of Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack" on The Hype Machine, a Web site that charts the most-linked audio tracks by blogs.

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No one need remind former presidential hopeful Howard Dean of the political ramifications of the Web - nor Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska.

The 82-year-old Republican, chairman of the Senate Committee on Science, Commerce and Transportation, has been parodied mercilessly by bloggers after referring to the Internet as a "series of tubes" and for mistakenly calling an e-mail "an Internet." A music video for the "DJ Ted Stevens Techno Remix" is currently playing on YouTube .

Like Bush's closed-door G-8 meeting, a speech by Stevens was once unlikely to reach many people. But now sites like YouTube can strike anytime, anywhere.

Even when you're getting a massage.

07-21-06 02:15 EDT

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

posted July 21, 2006 04:29 PM              

ATTENTION EDITORS - CAPTION CORRECTION REMOVING NAME OF GIRL A girl, who was injured by Sunday's Israeli air strike, is treated in Jaball Amel hospital in the southern Lebanon town of Tyre July 17, 2006. REUTERS/Nikola Solic (LEBANON)

posted July 23, 2006 09:53 AM              

Whoah. I'm sure she already spanked him by now. Yikes.

posted July 23, 2006 11:44 AM              

the attention they garner...all the focus on the court jester.....

while the real actions and activities going on, behind the scenes....

ALL go unnoticed.....

hmmmmmm.

posted July 23, 2006 06:45 PM              

If I were Laura. I'd kick his ass. Especially with how possessive I am and all.

posted July 23, 2006 07:06 PM              

Ms. Merkle: "OMG! Look at that look
on his face!"

Ms. Merkle: "WHAT is that man DOING?"

Ms. Merkle: "I don't believe
this is happening!"

posted July 23, 2006 07:07 PM              

Ms. Merkle: "Oooooh Nooooo!"

Ms. Merkle: "Unhand me you
stupid pervert!"

Bush: "Ok. Ok. I'm going....
sheese such an up-tight
woman!"

posted July 24, 2006 06:15 PM            

OMG... and you idiots support Clinton? Hypocrites.. next thing you know you'll compare the message to a porno. Clinton gets his freaking knob polished by an intern in the oval office and you call the BS surrounding this wrong.

Freaks.

Maybe you should align yourselves with another anti-war freak...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnG0eFwlmgI&mode=related&search=

------------------
The democratic world believes that it is not the terrorists that are to blame, but us. Us, the westerners.
WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the sooner you eliminate this misconception from your minds, the better.
We are NOT to blame. It is the freaking terrorists and the freaking terrorists only!!!! They are the bad guys. They do not understand concepts like peace, democracy, and respect for human life. They are, pure and simPle, EVIL!!!!! Behind all their political manipulations, if you carefully look at the actions of these MONSTERS, they are EVIL!!

http://www.mideastweb.org/log/archives/00000489.htm

Provided by the lovely Lady Lioneye

posted July 25, 2006 01:21 AM              

quote:

---

OMG... and you idiots support Clinton? Hypocrites

---

He's in cahoots with the bush crime family....

Now as far as proprity goes.....

The woman the shrub was groping, for heaven's sake, happened to be the Chancellor of Germany....a woman who's rank and position calls for a certain amount of decorum and dignity....*sigh*

It's obvious from her reaction to the surprise "attack" that she was NOT very happy with it either.

posted July 25, 2006 05:27 PM            

But since all we have is YOUR observation of her being unhappy (and last time I heard you didn't seem to hold degree in psychology nor have you been employeed as a body language specialist) so based on your intellectual midget of an analysis, I will with my gut feeling.

Thanks for playing.. try again...

------------------
The democratic world believes that it is not the terrorists that are to blame, but us. Us, the westerners.
WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the sooner you eliminate this misconception from your minds, the better.
We are NOT to blame. It is the freaking terrorists and the freaking terrorists only!!!! They are the bad guys. They do not understand concepts like peace, democracy, and respect for human life. They are, pure and simPle, EVIL!!!!! Behind all their political manipulations, if you carefully look at the actions of these MONSTERS, they are EVIL!!

http://www.mideastweb.org/log/archives/00000489.htm

posted July 25, 2006 05:35 PM              

quote:

---

But since all we have is YOUR observation of her being unhappy (and last time I heard you didn't seem to hold degree in psychology nor have you been employeed as a body language specialist) so based on your intellectual midget of an analysis, I will with my gut feeling.

---

I gather from that profound statement....

....that this is Pid's idea of a "happy lady."

posted July 25, 2006 05:39 PM            

I'll bet you have a hard time distinguishing a happy smile from an smile as a result of anxiety.

posted July 25, 2006 05:48 PM              

quote:

---

It's apparant that you have a hard time with it since you so often misjudge Bush's facial expressions. LMAO

---

You mean like this one???

posted July 26, 2006 04:53 PM            

Once again, you are taking a "freeze" frame from a moving film and then applying one of your lamo opinions to it and calling it truth.

I am sure we could follow you in a day and catch you making some really stupid facial expressions. I am sure we can catch some of you with that out-of-sort look like you just had a thought about the Hale-Bop comment coming to take you to a better place.

We've all taken goofy pics before and we all make faces throughout the day.

Only an idiot would take would post something as stupid as this and call it fact.

posted July 26, 2006 05:30 PM              

....then there are a whole bunch of people who didn't have their "FACTS" straight....

Cuz Pid said ...

And PId's the end all...be all....

posted July 26, 2006 05:54 PM            

1) It was a 5 second reel

2) He touched her

3) She was surprized

4) No international incident took place

5) She did not slap him

6) She did not get up from her chair in a defensive move and move towards him

7) Business did not stop

8) No one had to issue an international apology

The only idiots on the planet making a big deal about it are Bush haters.... and delusional twits.

The only brain-dead morons that see some kind of international incident are those morons that freeze the frames and then capture someone making a face and then they think they are having an "aha" moment.

Fact - I'll bet you make alot of weird faces in a day, sometimes you may even look like a moron

Fact- Did we miss an international apology that was issued on behalf of the President of the US?

Huh...

posted July 26, 2006 05:56 PM            

Oh way.. do I hear Rainbow coming back and drooling all over your words AG.. She is your biggest fan now...

How about extending her an invite to your new club

posted July 26, 2006 06:17 PM              

He's kind of wierd. Seems like a droid.

or reptilian.

posted July 27, 2006 04:09 AM              

My comments are in italics...

******

1) It was a 5 second reel

So?

2) He touched her

He SURE DID!

3) She was surprized

She SURE was! Surprised and SHOCKED!

4) No international incident took place

Duh! (no bombs were involved!)

5) She did not slap him

Believe it or not, SOME people do have class.

6) She did not get up from her chair in a defensive move and move towards him

Oh Pid!

Good breeding will tell every time..

7) Business did not stop

Once again....

DUH!

8) No one had to issue an international apology

Of course not!

....the shrub does NOT have the good breeding, class, or intelligence that it takes, to apologize for such an offending act...

(Stands to reason. He wouldn't have done what he did in the first place, if he did.)

posted July 27, 2006 09:44 AM            

Clinton would given her a quick rape...which leftists everywhere would be defending right now....cause rape is one of the leftist values high on leftists list. Ask Juanita.

Bush just gave her a brief shoulder squeeze and leftists feign outrage.