What is really telling is that this was a group of Arab businessmen and businesswomen cheering the badmouthing of (the current) President Bush in front of his father. Well, I can't say he (they) didn't have it coming. I can't say he (they) shouldn't be surprised. (Tip 'o the hat to C&L.)Being in Thailand, outside looking in at America, it really is stunning how much the world has turned on America in just a few years.The oil-rich Persian Gulf used to be safe territory for former president Bush, an oil man who brought Arab leaders together in a coalition that drove Saddam Hussein's troops out of Kuwait in 1991.
But gratitude for the elder Bush, who served as president from 1989-93, was overshadowed by the foreign policy of his son, whose invasion of Iraq and support for Israel are deeply unpopular here.
"We do not respect your son. We do not respect what he's doing all over the world," a woman audience member bluntly told Bush after his keynote speech.
Bush appeared stunned as the audience of young business leaders whooped and whistled in approval.
The retired president had just finished a folksy address on leadership by telling the audience how deeply hurt he feels when his son the president is criticized.
I genuinely suspect that at this late date, if we had dropped nuclear bombs on Afghanistan immediately after 9-11 and killed thousands of innocents (along with Osama Bin Laden), 5 years after having done such a thing, we would probably be better-liked today in the world than we are now with the ever-annoying war in Iraq hanging over our heads like a sachet of limburger cheese.
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