At the G-8, a ‘Monumental’ American Gaffe

No matter how you slice it, this has to go down as one of the most outlandish blunders of any White House press office.

According to this write-through from France’s Le Figaro, A press kit distributed to journalists traveling with President Bush to the G-8 Summit in Japan, contained a biography of one of the President’s closest allies, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, that reads in part:

“One of the most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for governmental corruption and vice” and “A political dilettante who gained high office only through use of his considerable influence on the national media.”

Mind boggling.

By Julie Connan

Translated By Sandrine Ageorges

July 9, 2008

France – Le Figaro – Original Article (French)

In a White House press kit, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is described as “a political dilettante who gained high office only through use of his considerable influence on the national media.” discomfort.

If George W. Bush counted on the last G-8 Summit of his mandate to boost his popularity on the international scene, he missed his chance. According to the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Serra, the American president has come close to creating a diplomatic incident with Italy.

In a biography of Silvio Berlusconi, distributed on Air Force One by the White House to journalists accompanying the American president, one could read a less than conventional portrait of the U.S. ally: “One of the most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for governmental corruption and vice …”

READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing translated foreign press coverage of how the world perceives our nation.