[Kerrigan]

U.S. President George W. Bush writes a note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a Security Council meeting at the 2005 World Summit and 60th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York September 14, 2005.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...2587077477.jpg

[itistoday]

lol!

[placebo1969]

I was under the impression that Reuters admitted to "enhancing" that photo. Does anyone have a link?

[Kerrigan]

http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/newswir..._id=1001137642

That was the link to story you are wondering about. Now the site is down.

Basically they made the text clearer to read. And they probably edited out the part where he wrote "will you come with me"?

[smacintush]

Oh My God He Wants A Bathroom Break During A Meeting He Is So Stupid!!!!!!!lol!!!!111!!!!!!!

[GSixZero]

Yeah, looks like the contrast is turned up a little to make the text pop out a little more.

His handwriting is interesting... he can't quite make up his mind between drop-caps and lowercase letters.

[smacintush]

Originally Posted by GSixZero

Yeah, looks like the contrast is turned up a little to make the text pop out a little more.

His handwriting is interesting... he can't quite make up his mind between drop-caps and lowercase letters.

I didn't even notice that, funny cuz I do the same thing.

[Millennium]

Hmm. So the President has bodily functions. Who'da thunk it?

[Kerrigan]

He's the f___in' president of the US, why does he need to ask permission to use the bathroom?

[loki74]

Wow. Whoop dee freaking doo. He had to go to the bathroom. And you're acting like this has any relevance whatsoever?? It's not even newsworthy! news.yahoo.com *ptfff* news my ass.

Anyway, I think the Prez should go with all drop-caps. I think they're much nicer looking and easier to read.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

He's the f___in' president of the US, why does he need to ask permission to use the bathroom?

Perhaps it's not his bathroom?

He's just indicating that the flow of the discussion should be modified slightly to take his unexpected movement into account (i.e. Condi suggesting everyone take a break for coffee or something). What, were you guys expecting him to stand on the table and say "Stop your yapping, I need to go make little brown fishes"?

[dreilly1]

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

He's the f___in' president of the US, why does he need to ask permission to use the bathroom?

And at the U.N., to boot! Did his trip to the Bathroom pass the "Global Test"?

[zerostar]

Is that a question mark?

All I can think of is "and I'm Ron Burgundy?"

[red rocket]

I'm not usually one to attribute intelligence to Bush, but as I read it, he's merely indicating to Rice that he wants a break in the meeting. The part about his bodily functions strikes me as a distraction. Probably some code in there, as well. In short, I think it's all staged.

[christ]

Bodily functions, OK, but "I think I MAY need ..." what - is he not sure?

I'm damn sure that I know when I need the BATHroom!

[itistoday]

Originally Posted by red rocket

I'm not usually one to attribute intelligence to Bush, but as I read it, he's merely indicating to Rice that he wants a break in the meeting. The part about his bodily functions strikes me as a distraction. Probably some code in there, as well. In short, I think it's all staged.

When will you people stop giving this idiot the benefit of the doubt and realize him for the true moron that he is??

[Sky Captain]

Anything to take a swipe at Bush.

Teaming, hungry pirannah. That's what the left has become.

[zerostar]

You must be firmly stuck in the "right" if you think its only one side, both groups have nut jobs who feverishly hate each other and take any swipe they can get. Both sides are full of idiots.

Teaming, hungry pirannah. That's what the left has become.
Teaming, hungry pirannah. That's what the right has become.

[Millennium]

Originally Posted by itistoday

When will you people stop giving this idiot the benefit of the doubt and realize him for the true moron that he is??

Are you saying he's done something stupid here? If I needed to go to the bathroom in the middle of an extremely important international conference, you can be sure I'd be discreetly asking my advisors about the most appropriate course of action.

Would you have preferred it if he just stood up and announced "I've gotta pee", Forrest Gump-style?

[Millennium]

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

He's the f___in' president of the US, why does he need to ask permission to use the bathroom?

Etiquette, perhaps? Hard as it may be to believe, he does have some sense of decorum sometimes, and I'm not going to fault him when he chooses to apply it.

[zerostar]

Originally Posted by Millennium

Etiquette, perhaps? Hard as it may be to believe, he does have some sense of decorum sometimes, and I'm not going to fault him when he chooses to apply it.

I have no problem with him asking, but if he can't even structure a proper sentence then Yale should be under serious investigation for graduating this man.

[RAILhead]

I'm going to go take a leak now, myself.

Maury

[zerostar]

Originally Posted by RAILhead

I'm going to go take a leak now, myself.

Don't you mean "I'm going to go take a leak now, myself?"

[Spliffdaddy]

cue the picture of Hillary Clinton standing in front of a urinal holding her dick.

[itistoday]

Originally Posted by Millennium

Are you saying he's done something stupid here? If I needed to go to the bathroom in the middle of an extremely important international conference, you can be sure I'd be discreetly asking my advisors about the most appropriate course of action.

Would you have preferred it if he just stood up and announced "I've gotta pee", Forrest Gump-style?

If you think I'm simply referring to this little situation you're thoroughly mistaken.

[Dakar]

Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy

cue the picture of Hillary Clinton standing in front of a urinal holding her dick.

That'd be a hilarious photoshop pic.

[moodymonster]

When you're the most powerful man in the world in a meeting with world leaders, getting up and leaving could be seen as a slight on other people in the room. Also his security etc would need to be up to date on his movements.

As is self evident from the news surrounding this 'incident', what the President of the US does is important. Even going to the toilet. It is far better that GW took into consideration the possible interpretations of his actions than just stand up, announce he was going to the bathroom and walk out.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by Sky Captain

Anything to take a swipe at Bush.

Teaming, hungry pirannah. That's what the left has become.

Yes, because the Hillary Clinton jokes are just as mature!

[Spliffdaddy]

I wasn't joking.

[Millennium]

Originally Posted by itistoday

If you think I'm simply referring to this little situation you're thoroughly mistaken.

If you don't believe that this thread has anything to do with Bush being stupid, then why throw the argument out in this thread?

[andi*pandi]

take a moment to think: would this still be amusing (ok, in a lowbrow beavis and butthead kind of way), or even interesting, if it were Tony Blair pictured? Kim Jong II ? A. P. J. Abdul Kalam? Moshe Katsav? Jacques Chirac?

yeah, kinda.

john stewart can't make up all the funny things.

[nath]

Originally Posted by RAILhead

I'm going to go take a leak now, myself.

Maury

...and you didn't even have to ask one of your employees!

[itistoday]

Originally Posted by Millennium

If you don't believe that this thread has anything to do with Bush being stupid, then why throw the argument out in this thread?

I think this thread is merely one of the millions of examples of his stupidity, and I'm getting sick and tired of people making excuses for him. "Oh, maybe it's a secret code". You get the idea. That's why I made that comment.

[subego]

Originally Posted by red rocket

The part about his bodily functions strikes me as a distraction.

I usually find body functions of this nature distracting.

Thanks. Try the veal.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by nath

...and you didn't even have to ask one of your employees!

You forget, Bush doesn't spend enough time at the UN to actually know protocol for using the bathroom...

[Millennium]

Originally Posted by itistoday

I think this thread is merely one of the millions of examples of his stupidity, and I'm getting sick and tired of people making excuses for him. "Oh, maybe it's a secret code". You get the idea. That's why I made that comment.

So then, does that mean you do think that this was a stupid thing of him to do? Honest question: why?

[goMac]

Originally Posted by Millennium

So then, does that mean you do think that this was a stupid thing of him to do? Honest question: why?

It's not a serious offense, but it is kind of worrying that after nearly 5 years in the White House Bush doesn't know how to excuse himself from a meeting to use the bathroom. Either he has a really large bladder, or he doesn't go to very many meetings.

[Millennium]

Originally Posted by goMac

It's not a serious offense, but it is kind of worrying that after nearly 5 years in the White House Bush doesn't know how to excuse himself from a meeting to use the bathroom. Either he has a really large bladder, or he doesn't go to very many meetings.

So how does one excuse oneself for a bathroom break at an international peace conference when the slightest insult, real or imagined, can lead to decades of bad blood between entire nations?

[itistoday]

Originally Posted by Millennium

So then, does that mean you do think that this was a stupid thing of him to do? Honest question: why?

In addition to what goMac said, it's simply that Bush always acts like this. He chokes on pretzels, he says outrageous things (things that aren't even simple mispronunciations but serious signs that he has no idea what he's doing), he makes catastrophic political decisions, etc. Had the photo been of anyone else, I probably would not have paid it too much mind, but seriously, that note is ridiculously typical of him, and hints that he's not really paying attention to the meeting, in addition to what goMac said.

Edit: I think this is a fairly accurate portrayal of our president.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by goMac

It's not a serious offense, but it is kind of worrying that after nearly 5 years in the White House Bush doesn't know how to excuse himself from a meeting to use the bathroom. Either he has a really large bladder, or he doesn't go to very many meetings.

It's not possible to excuse yourself from such meetings if your presence is vital - the meeting must be paused. When such a meeting is paused, it's better that the request for the pause comes from an underling (i.e. "Gentlemen, I believe it's time for cake - if that's OK with you Mr. President").

[Kerrigan]

Originally Posted by Doofy

(i.e. "Gentlemen, I believe it's time for cake - if that's OK with you Mr. President").

The UN is meeting to tackle poverty; let them eat cake?

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

The UN is meeting to tackle poverty; let them eat cake?

Might as well - it's not like the UN has actually been effective at anything ever, is it? There's more chance that I'll give birth in the next five minutes than there is of the UN solving poverty.

[Kerrigan]

What I meant was that the UN solution to poverty should be "Let them eat cake"

[SimeyTheLimey]

This is so much simpler than you are all making out. Bush is a head of state. He was in the Security Council. Heads of state very rarely sit in the security council chamber itself. Normally, that job is done by their UN Ambassadors. Occasionally, the foreign minister sits in the chamber (the US foreign minister being the Secretary of State). On very, very, rare occasions, there is a heads of state/government meeting. On those occasions, people like Bush, Chirac, Putin etc. sit in the seat that is normally occupied by their underlings. It's probably a rather unfamiliar sitation for any of them. Not only is it a forum that they aren't practiced at, but also its an odd situation where for once they aren't the chair of the meeting. That means there is a protocol that they are both unfamiliar with, and which they have to defer to.

But add to that the fact that even heads of state have working kidneys and bladders. They are still human beings. They have the physical needs of any human, coupled with the normal desire to do the right thing in a job with responsibilities and possibilities for making an ass out of yourself that would scare the bejesus out of most of us. So he discreetly and asked his advisor who has more familiarity with the procedure what that procedure was. Big deal! When I used to escort generals around, do you think I never got asked where the bathroom was? I don't care who you are, when you've gotta go, you've gotta go! And the fact is, he had to go but he handled it the way a professional executive handles such things - with a discreet little note.

Anyway, I am sympathetic to his plight. I got stuck in a 2 1/2 hour conference call today -- and I had to go potty but couldn't. It happens to the best of us.

[Kerrigan]

If he hadn't invaded Iraq this wouldn't have happened.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

If he hadn't invaded Iraq this wouldn't have happened.

[nath]

Originally Posted by SimeyTheLimey

This is so much simpler than you are all making out.

You're right, but for all the wrong reasons.

Any PR person or spin doctor worth his or her salt would consider this a minor disaster. At exactly the point where Bush appears hesitant, weak and stupid politically, he is caught asking one of his subbordinates - a woman, no less - if he can go to the toilet, making the caricature even more believable.

It's ridiculous, but one of those intangible things that just inexorably reduces his stature. Like the rumor that went around Westminster about John Major tucking his shirts into his underpants - it just fits perfectly with everything his detractors mock him for.

[red rocket]

Originally Posted by itistoday

When will you people stop giving this idiot the benefit of the doubt and realize him for the true moron that he is??

Maybe him seeming like a complete moron is part of The Plan?

Originally Posted by Bush

"I think I
MAY NEED
A BATHroom
break?
Is this possib[le?]
W~"

"think room break?" (translate: "Let's have a break.")
"I&I MAY NEED A BATH" (translate: "This stinks.")

Now read it vertically.

I
M
A
(break?)
W

"I'm a W" (translate: "I'm a W")

W: acronym for Walker. (Or is it?)

There's a "break" between the A and the W, a break with a question mark. Meaning it's not a break, at all, but rather a link. A is, of course, the 1st letter in the English alphabet, W being the 23rd. Meaning there are 21 letters in between, the centre halfway between K and L.

Now, in the Greek alphabet, the 23rd letter isn't omega, but psi. The analogous result is thus between lambda and myu, revealing a hexagram when combined. Interesting.

(Ask any vigintitresologist, 23 is a pretty significant number.)

Of course, apart from being in Skulls and Bones, Bush, whilst @ Yale, was also in Delta-Kappa-Epsilon. Think of the numbers. Delta=4; Kappa=10; Epsilon=5. (In English, K is the 11th letter, not the 10th. Coincidence? I think not.)

Remember, Bush the elder has a long and involved history with CIA, as well as the occult. I find it naïve to assume that his son, stupid though he may be, would not have been instructed in the proper use of cypher, steganography, discretion and protocol, let alone numerology (Just think Bohemian Grove). There are better means of indicating one wishes a break in a meeting than penning a note like the one photographed.

I therefore conclude that having the note photographed and disseminated via the media was an intentional blind.

Presumed objective: Make GWB seem more harmless.

[SimeyTheLimey]

Originally Posted by nath

You're right, but for all the wrong reasons.

Any PR person or spin doctor worth his or her salt would consider this a minor disaster. At exactly the point where Bush appears hesitant, weak and stupid politically, he is caught asking one of his subbordinates - a woman, no less - if he can go to the toilet, making the caricature even more believable.

It's ridiculous, but one of those intangible things that just inexorably reduces his stature. Like the rumor that went around Westminster about John Major tucking his shirts into his underpants - it just fits perfectly with everything his detractors mock him for.

There is no compensating for the fact that a good chunk of his detractors are idiots who will seize on any stupid or inane thing. One of the things I like about Bush is that he seems to be in that handful of politicians who understands that there is a percentage of people who are just twits and who can't be appeased and therfore it is pointless to try. This doesn't alter his "stature" at all. The guy had to take a whizz in a situation where the protocol made it more socially awkward than the same issue would be down at the VFW. He's a human being, not a robot. Normal people understand that, and aren't shocked by the idea. In fact, I think normal people kind of like to know that their president is normal too.

As for him being diminished because he asked a woman a perfectly normal question, that just strikes me as a sexist concern. It's interesting to me that the left seems to harbor such attitudes in this day and age. A man can ask a man where the John is. Apparently this president is progressive enough to ask a female (who he appointed to the third highest office in the land) the kind of perfectly human question that previous presidents have certainly asked of male secretaries of state.

[Millennium]

Originally Posted by itistoday

In addition to what goMac said, it's simply that Bush always acts like this.

What; like a human being? Much as his detractors occasionally like to joke otherwise, Bush is not a robot.

He chokes on pretzels...

Why the plural? That only happened once. Have you never choked on anything before? I choked on a breath mint once, and I can assure you; it's not something people do on purpose, nor is it a mark of intelligence or lack thereof. Certainly it happened at an embarrassing time, but to continue harping on him for this is gratuitous.

he says outrageous things (things that aren't even simple mispronunciations but serious signs that he has no idea what he's doing)...

Interesting way of putting that. Any particular quote come to mind?

he makes catastrophic political decisions...

Any politician can make catastrophic political decisions. That risk is part of being a politician. Indeed, I'm having a lot of trouble thinking of a past President who hasn't made multiple catastrophic decisions over the course of his Administration. Bush seems to get more press attention than most in recent memory, but that could be a result of the fact that he's really the first President to face new kinds of media attention, such as the Internet aggregators and political weblogs, which didn't happen to become widespread until his term.

Had the photo been of anyone else, I probably would not have paid it too much mind...

Are you saying that this is anti-Bush bias, then? That the real crime is being Bush, not needing to use the bathroom?

and hints that he's not really paying attention to the meeting, in addition to what goMac said.

Have you ever had to use the bathroom really badly at a meeting, important or otherwise, before? I assure you, it can be very distracting indeed. He may indeed have not been paying attention, but if this is why then I can't fault him for it. If you have to go, you have to go.

Edit: I think this is a fairly accurate portrayal of our president.

That's really sad, given that the JibJab folks meant it as a joke.