As President Bush wraps up a four-country, weeklong trip to Asia today, the Washington Post notes “the trip has produced no real breakthroughs of any sort. On a wide variety of issues, from trade to security to human rights, Bush won no concrete agreements from any of his summit partners.”
So what are bloggers going hog-wild over this morning? A minor snafu in Beijing yesterday in which the president hastily tried to leave a press conference, only to find his way blocked by locked doors.
After a reporter asked the president why “you seemed a little off your game” in an appearance with Chinese leader Hu Jintao earlier in the day, Bush tersely responded, “Have you ever heard of jet lag? Well, good. That answers your question.” Bush passed on a follow-up, then headed for the exit. Reported the BBC, “President Bush tugged at both handles on the double doors before admitting: ‘I was trying to escape. Obviously, it didn’t work.'”
For many bloggers, the “no exit” incident is the Bush metaphor they’ve always dreamed of. “If you wonder why the Bushies can’t figure out an exit strategy for Iraq, read on,” writes Blue Collar Politics Blog. “[T]here are times when the Gods, with their whacky sense of humor, send us humans not-so-subtle hints that should fall on us like a ton of bricks.”
What that hint actually means, however, is subject to interpretation. Truth Serum suggests that “This is what happens when you really cut and run.” Meanwhile, over at The Moderate Voice, Michael Stickings takes a broader view: “Call it a metaphor for Bush’s castrated presidency and the end of the Bush Era. Or for the U.S. occupation of Iraq.” Take your pick!
Then there are those who see a darker scheme at work in the incident, such as The Last Liberal in Central Florida, who thinks that the Chinese and the press conspired to prevent Bush’s exit. Cue the segue: “One thing he cannot escape is all the dead bodies piling up while he pursues his failed policy in Iraq. He has done a 180 on the war now that Representative Murtha has the nation stirred up. He now rejects attempts to question the patriotism of those who oppose his invasion.”
Unsurprisingly, the press conference also fits perfectly into Kabbalah For Women’s worldview. “This was no coincidence,” writes Josia Nakash, the man behind the blog. “With each passing day we are seeing how little control our leaders really have over the unfolding of events. They are puppets in the grand scheme just like everyone else who doesn’t understand what controls reality.”
Or could it just be that — instead of a sinister China/MSM conspiracy or a timely reminder about the all-encompassing wonders of kabbalah — some underling simply forgot to unlock the doors ahead of time? Nah.
One of the few bloggers who gives Bush a break on this is Andrew Sullivan — in a post disavowing readers’ claims that he is a “Bush-hater.” “A man who gets trapped in a press conference by locked doors and responds, ‘I was trying to escape. Obviously, it didn’t work,’ is not someone I find easy to hate,” Sullivan writes, gently adding he hopes Bush “gets some sleep on the plane.”
Of course, if things don’t get better for Bush, he could always borrow a page from the book of Thailand’s prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who just announced, according to the AP, that “he won’t answer questions from reporters until next year because the alignment of the planets is not in his favor.”
Scott McClellan, that’s your cue!
Edward B. Colby was a writer at CJR Daily.