Gramps: Spain is a Punk, and They Don't Serve Poutine, Either, so They Better Dance (OT)

"My friends, when I spent five years as a POW, I didn't have any allies outside of my cell, and certainly no maps."

Perhaps that's why he won't commit to meeting with the president of NATO ally Spain, after he agreed to, notes AmericaBlog.

Perhaps he's just losing lost it.

Based on past history, perhaps it just doesn't matter (from around the 2000 Michigan primary at TVBarn Archives). Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose (for our bilingual ally, Canada):

"So I get a phone call this morning from CBC Radio News. Seems there's this videotape of George W. Bush at a Michigan press conference last week taking a question from a Canadian reporter. The reporter then pointed me to Al Kamen's item in Thursday's Washington Post, which revealed that the "reporter" was actually a cast member on "This Hour Has 22 Minutes," the very funny satirical show on CBC-TV that I wish I could get in the States. "The prime minister of Canada, Jean Poutine," the reporter said, "has said you look like the man who should lead the free world into the 21st century." Bush replied enthusiastically, "Well, I appreciate his strong statement ... He understands I believe in free trade ... that I want to make sure our relations with our most important neighbor to the north of us, the Canadians, is strong." Just one problem: Jean Chretien is the PM in Canada. Kamen gave the governor the benefit of the doubt, suggested maybe Dubya was thinking of Vladimir Putin, the Russian head man. But as several of TV Barn's faithful Canadian readers pointed out today, that's not the joke. "When they referred to the Canadian minister as 'Jean Poutine,' it was hilarious to the show's target audience," writes Lex Kuhne. "Because, as all Canadians know, poutine is a regional Quebecois dish, typically a side, consisting of french fries, brown gravy and cheese curds (or plain cheddar will do in a pinch). So, not only does the bit show Bush for a doofus, but I bet it really made its audience laugh." And anyway, Kamen filed his story before he had a chance to see Bush make a complete nincompoop of himself on "Late Show with David Letterman." I suppose no one these days expects a Republican candidate for president to have complete mastery over current events, any more than he's expected to know how to anticipate those annoying little one-second delays when having a conversation via satellite. On the other hand, as president he'll be expected to have both skills pretty much down pat, so now's as good a time as any for George W. to start."