ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — President Bush got bit again Monday by the open-microphone bug.
Apparently unaware that his words were being broadcast, Bush offered an unvarnished assessment of Syria's alleged support for Hezbollah's attacks on Israel.
He also criticized United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, teased British Prime Minister Tony Blair about a sweater he recently gave the president, and joked about the long-windedness of some unnamed world leaders.
His comments of nearly four minutes were heard live at the end of the annual Group of Eight (G summit of industrialized nations.
MEDIA SPLIT ON SLIP: Expletive not deleted by everyone
Bush "used an expletive to express his view. That's the way plain folks talk and probably will play pretty well in the heartland and beyond," said Roderick Hart, a University of Texas communications and government professor.
"That image of being a plain talker is part of the problem he has internationally, where the issues are far more nuanced," Hart said. "Internationally, he is not seen a man of great nuance and complexity."
White House press secretary Tony Snow played down the incident. "His reaction first was, what did it say," Snow said when asked about Bush's comments. "So we showed him the transcript. Then he rolled his eyes and laughed."
It's not the first incident of Bush's candor. During the 2000 campaign, he referred to Adam Clymer, then a New York Times reporter, as a "major league a———."
On Monday, as Bush was returning from Russia, morning radio stations in the USA replayed his line about the growing violence in the Middle East. "What they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this s—-, and it's over," Bush was caught saying to Blair.
Bush also could be heard questioning Annan's diplomatic strategy and suggesting that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would soon be traveling to the Middle East.
He teased Blair about the sweater he received, joking the prime minister must have "picked it out yourself." Bush said he wouldn't speak long at Monday's summit meetings, unlike some of the other world leaders. "I'm not going to talk too damn long like the rest of them. Some of these guys talk too long."
Blair eventually shut off Bush's microphone. Asked later about what happened, Blair joked that it was "all about transparent government." He then tapped the microphone in front of him.
Wayne Fields, a political scientist at Washington University in St. Louis, said Bush is unlikely to take heat at home for his remarks.
"His informal persona gets a lot of slack," Fields said. "The public has a general sense that these are informal moments and doesn't attach a lot of importance to them. It may be more troubling to the rest of the world, but I doubt it."
Bush isn't the only president to be caught by a live microphone. President Clinton in 1993 once was heard cursing at an aide, while President Reagan joked before a 1984 radio address that the United States was about to bomb what was then the Soviet Union.
Bush's candor capped a G8 summit dominated by the latest wave of violence in the Middle East. Members agreed Sunday on a statement calling on Hezbollah to stop shelling Israel and return captured soldiers; Israel would then suspend military operations.
Publicly, Bush praised his G8 colleagues Monday for addressing the "root causes of the conflict," defining it as "terrorist activity." He singled out Hezbollah, saying it is "housed and encouraged by Syria" and "financed by Iran."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2...tm?POE=NEWISVA

It makes him more human. It gives him a likeable quality...Thats great.

GW speaks the truth. He's not some liberal New Englander scum like the the Kennedy.

The leftist freaks can't stand that Pres. Bush and PM Blair are real persons. The leftist a es were all hoping this would damage Bush, but people just see it as humanizing, honest and real. I, for one, don't mind him saying removed when he's talking about Hezbollah terrorists.

* MSNBC video
* BBC transcript

mod edit: remove all foul language, not just some

I did a little editing to a Anti-Bush Cartoon.

The real reason I like Bush .......... sometimes ... is real simple.

He makes the most stupid and humorous mistakes I have ever seen a President of the United States make (and that includes Ford's errant golf balls, and trip and falls).

He is a misplaced New Englander that would have you believe he is a native Texican ... and ... can't even read a teleprompter (after practicing for days) without tripping over his own tongue.

The English language seems to be one subject (along with a well thought out political platform and invasion plan of a country), that is completely foreign to him.

This makes for oodles and oodles of screw-ups for us to laugh at.

That's why I like him ....... sometimes.

It is sad that so much of his humor has it's roots in the worst policies I have witnessed in a decade though.

I'll agree with Bones

Bush has got to be the first president where his command of a foreign language is actually better than his command of his maternal language. He actually seems more at ease speaking Spanish than English.

I'll say Bushism as the the best thing I like about Bush...sometimes.

Never in my life have I have I listened to some of the inane gibberish that comes out of his mouth. A few examples...

http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/b...shisms2005.htm

Of course, it stops being funny when you realize that Bush was actually trying to be serious.

He does have dyslexia... do you make a habit of laughing at people with learning disabilities? Are you going to laugh at me next because I am an adult with ADD? Or maybe if I were a down syndrome person you'd lose control of your bladder from the endless hours of mirth brought forth by my infirmity.

BTW, this is a rhetorical question, I don't really give a what your answer is, yes, I'm pissed. I may not agree with everything the man does but in my opinion this is hitting below the belt and a hot button for me. Its most definitely not a fair go mate.

I never knew that, BD...Either of those things...And I agree, it's not a fair punch.

I don't have a problem understanding GW. But I guess if your heard me speak in public you'd think that I have a hard time with English. But guess what, folks in different areas have different accents.

GW wasn't born in Texas just as much as I wasn't born in Florida. Yet I still have a southern drawl when I speak.

Cuban by birth.
American by chance.
Southern by the Grace of God.

GW has my vote, he's been doing the best he can. Did he screw up on somethings? Yup, you bet your ass he did. But guess what. HE'S HUMAN!

George W Bush, the Cowboy President.
Kicking ass, taking names, and making France look like the socialist Islamofacist supporters that they are.