Mr. Smug Goes to Canada

Heard this bit on All Things Considered yesterday. It shows George W. Bush's painful lack of anything resembling diplomacy or tact, as he smugly derides a reporter's question regarding how his and the country's "approval rating" in Canada has plummeted since 9/11. I really think he should have ended with at least "so in your face!" if not a full-blown, "suck it, bitch!" Maybe the Liberal Medians at NPR just edited that out.

...question at the news conference from a Toronto newspaper reporter dealt with the immediate goodwill Canadians felt for the U.S. in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. And how polls now show that it has since deteriorated. The reporter asked if the President felt responsible for that.

Bush: "I haven't seen the polls you look at. An' we just had a poll in our country, where uh, the people decided that the foreign policy of the Bush Administration oughta be, stay in place for four more years. It's a foreign policy that uh, works with our neighbors, trade between our countries has never been stronger. But it's a foreign policy that also understands that we've got an obligation to defend our security."

For those who are RealPlayer averse, here's the soundbite in MP3. You really need to hear it to get the full effect.