June 27, 2005: Dept. of Cooptation

From CNN: President Bush has tagged Germany's contribution to the Iraq reconstruction effort as "important" following a meeting with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Washington.

Schroeder faces possible new elections and a potential defeat at the hands of a conservative opponent who, unlike him, supported Bush's invasion of Iraq.

The photo with this story says it all. Bush also told Schroeder "I appreciate your focus."

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My . . . isn't that a very broad grin on Bush's face ? Looks like the cat playing with a mouse and deciding to be merciful and letting it go.

Reading that CNN article, seems that Schroeder is going to ask for a vote of confidence from the German parliament . . . what's up with that??? Isn't the election they're running a sort of a vote of confidence?

Posted by: Lola at June 27, 2005 11:57 AM

This means Chirac is surrounded.

Posted by: PeterUK at June 27, 2005 12:05 PM

Lola,

Schroeder is toast, that's why Bush is grinning like that.

As to the vote of confidence: Schroeder announced early elections, but didn't want to step down, for then his chances of ever holding an high ofice again would be effectively nil. So instead he is asking for a vote of *no*-confidence, so that our President will schedule early elections.

Announcing early elections wasn't a clever ploy, but neccesity, for it was the only way to keep his coalition from falling apart after losing that many statew elections. The Christian Democrats are over 50% in the polls as it is, while his party has just over 25%. People want change, and 85% expect a chnage in government.

Even worse for him, part of the Social Democrats, inclusing a former chairman, has left the party, and is forming a new one together with what used to the East German communist party.

Do I have to mention that right now I'm grinning just like Bush on that photo?

Posted by: Ralf Goergens at June 27, 2005 12:31 PM

Ralf, how much of an improvement do you think Merkel will be, both in terms of reforming the economy and in terms of trans-Atlantic relations?

Bush's reported comments strike just the right tone, I think: polite, congenial, but not in the least bit desperate. He knows he holds the strong hand right now. There's no point in rubbing it in, lest it wound German pride and spark a sympathy reaction for Schroeder. No taunts about Old Europe, now. As Lola says, the smile conveys the subtext quite nicely anyway.

Needless to say, I been waiting for a moment like this for what seems like a long time now.

Posted by: Doug S. at June 27, 2005 12:44 PM

"A free and democratic Iraq in the heart of the Middle East will help the United States and will help Germany because we will have laid a foundation for peace for generations to come," he said.

Didn't Bush just drag Germany into the Coalition here?

"And a process that would enable Iran to develop nuclear weapons is unacceptable," he said.

Schroeder said he "couldn't agree more with this message."

I thought the axis of evil was an invention of evil neo-cons.

Posted by: chuck at June 27, 2005 12:59 PM

Doug,

Merkel will be the first Chancellor who really tries to reform the economy, but she can't do magic. Germany has been resisting reforms harder and longer than almost anybody else in the developed worlds, except France, and there is some serious catching up to do. Her people have announced that they'll start with measures that don't cost much, like reducing bureaucratic obstacles for business. Since the biggest problems are in that area we'll probably see some intial improvements in the economy, but everything else can only be done against determined resistance of the various interest groups. That will be decisive. If she can't do to our trade unions what Margeret Thatcher did to the British ones she'll almost certainly fail. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

As to relations: She'll do everything she can to repair the damage, and without Schroeder Chirac's dream of turning the EU into a counterweight of the EU goes poof. That should go a long way, but relations obviously can't get quite back to pre-Schroeder conditions, for future leftwing governments probably will be just as bad as
Schroeder's. Any American Administraion will have to take that into consideration.

Anyway, there seems to be just one major issue Merkel disagrees with Bush, and that is Turkey. He really wants to see it in the EU, but she's against it, and Europen voters won't stand for it any time soon. There seem to have been some signals that both won't wan't Turkey to become a point of serious contention.

Posted by: Ralf Goergens at June 27, 2005 1:14 PM

Is that what's known as a "shit-eating grin"?

Posted by: Kyda Sylvester at June 27, 2005 2:03 PM

I'd like to see Turkey pay the price for making our guys take the long way to Baghdad.

Throw the new Chancellorette a bone and let Turkey wait a few more years.

Posted by: erp at June 27, 2005 2:09 PM

Hey,what's the deal,I'm not chopped liver,why can't I get aboard here?

Posted by: tonymixan at June 27, 2005 2:12 PM

erp,

Agreed. The Turks bowed to the Franco-Islamist axis. They can lump it. We don't owe 'em nuttin'.

Posted by: WichitaBoy at June 27, 2005 2:17 PM

Roger and everyone,

Schroeder may be a weasel but he isn't an idiot; to me his move towards Bush is a very strong sign that the Germans can read the tea leaves, and the "insurgency" in Iraq, while far from over, is, well -- like, so over...

Of course most in Washington among the chateratti aren't nearly so perspicacious. Alas.

Jamie Irons

Posted by: Jamie Irons at June 27, 2005 2:28 PM

Ralf, your estimate of Merkel agrees with what I've read elsewhere. Let's hope she has enough Iron Lady in her to get the job done. erp and WichitaBoy, I suspect that Bush would agree with you on Turkey (and of course, I agree with you, too). I haven't heard nearly as many noises about pushing the EU to accept Turkey since April 2003, so I'm sure there's room here for Bush to throw Merkel a bone once she becomes Chancellor.

Posted by: Doug S. at June 27, 2005 2:50 PM

"I appreciate your focus." Whoa, talk about damning with faint praise!! LOL. Good one, Bush.

Schroeder, like Fischer, is a 68'er, or one of the loony left of that period. After Baader-Meinhof launched their murder spree to ignite the masses, the German masses promptly voted in a Conservative government. Same thing happening now. Guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks, after all.

Posted by: PJ at June 27, 2005 3:15 PM

PJ,

Bush could have also added: “You are very punctual” and “ I admire your taste in ties.”

Words like that are critical in building strong alliances and are not likely to be forgotten.

Posted by: Katherine at June 27, 2005 3:38 PM

Katherine

But aren't all Germans punctual (not to say punctilious)?

Or is that one of my American cowboy stereotypes?

They do have some nice ties over there in Deutschland, though, one does have to concede that...

;-)

Jamie Irons

Posted by: Jamie Irons at June 27, 2005 4:15 PM

Jamie,

Oh, sure. I also do not doubt that Mr. Schroeder is very focused (on something).

What we have here is the perfect diplomat Cowboy Bush saying nice, factually truthful things about his adversary, that mean absolutely nothing.

Posted by: Katherine at June 27, 2005 4:27 PM

"I appreciate your focus."

I think someone misheard this. I suspect it was more like, "I DIDN'T appreciate your attempt to..."

Posted by: richard mcenroe at June 27, 2005 5:21 PM

Reminds me of when Hillary announced for the Senate from Pat Moynihan's upstate farm. Moynihan, none too pleased about handing over his seat to Madame, gave an introduction that was textbook faint praise damnation. He saved his highest accolade for the end saying as he handed over the podium, "Eleanor Roosevelt would have liked you". It was great.

Posted by: Kyda Sylvester at June 27, 2005 7:19 PM

"You do not smell as bad as I had feared."

LOL.

Posted by: PJ at June 27, 2005 7:38 PM

WSJ likes Angela Merkel.

Posted by: Buddy Larsen at June 27, 2005 8:58 PM

Kyda,

Is that what's known as a "shit-eating grin"?

JMO, but I don't think it is a classic SEG. More like it's kissin' cousin - the Cat That Swallowed the Canary Grin (CSCG). Herr Schroeder has just mumbled, "What happened to that lovely little bird I had in my hand a few moments ago?" and Mr. Bush, desperately trying not to erp up little feathers, can only smile and point toward the two little birds in the bush outside the window.

Once he's managed to swallow both bird and CSCG, we get the "I appreciate your focus" quote which is pretty much the same as saying, "Yaknow, neighbor, I'm danged pleased you stopped pitching your manure over the fence onto my property. I was becoming concerned that persuasion had to proceed beyond the gentle stage."

Posted by: Knucklehead at June 28, 2005 5:40 AM

Kyda and Knucklehead:

I think in the classic/original meaning of SEG, the grinner is the one that has just been forced to swallow something nasty and is trying to put a fake happier face on it. Not unlike the chimpanzee world where the wide grin often is a display of discomfort or subservience to a dominant male. So Schroieder here is the SEG-er.
But I do think the term SEG has become confused and morphed into meaning the expression of the person made most happy by the person who has been forced to yield/concede, etc.

Where's Safire when we need him?

W's smile is just good old fashioned satisfaction.

Posted by: Bruce W. at June 28, 2005 6:50 AM

Well, boys, I did a little research. Wordwizard does a pretty good job covering the subject and from it I conclude that Dubya's was not a "shit eating grin".

Apparently the term is country colloquial and orignated as "possum eating shit" grin (for a possum this evidently is a good thing). As anyone who has lived among them knows, possums will eat just about anything, but until now I wasn't aware that s**t was on their list of delicacies.

Posted by: Kyda Sylvester at June 28, 2005 8:24 AM

There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Kyda, than are dreamt of in my sensibilities.

Caprophagia is, well, quite common and certainly not limited to opossums.

Posted by: Knucklehead at June 28, 2005 8:38 AM

Merkel sounds heartening, and so does Rita Verdonk of the Netherlands.

http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=21013&name=Morocco+denies+Verdonk's+claims+over+dual+nationality

Maybe with these two Maggies in charge, there is hope for Europe yet.

Posted by: PJ at June 28, 2005 8:48 AM

Indeed, Knucklehead--anyone who's ever owned dogs and cats at the same time knows all about that. And did you ever happen to see this "exercise in poor taste"?

Ack, Roger, we need a new thread!

Posted by: Kyda Sylvester at June 28, 2005 9:08 AM

I have great hopes for Angela Merkel, too, but if she does to the unions what Baroness Thatcher did in the UK, it will work, but think of the political price PM Thatcher paid and which the Tories are still paying in Britain...

Talk about "damning with faint praise," President Bush's "I appreciate your focus." is hilarious and brilliant!
(How can people say he's not intelligent?!)

Posted by: JenLArt at June 28, 2005 12:52 PM

CAProphagia? You eat hats?

Posted by: richard mcenroe at June 28, 2005 5:30 PM

CAProphagia? You eat hats?

I don't but apparently some do. I've told they taste like sh*it.

Posted by: Knucklehead at June 29, 2005 10:04 AM

President Bush has tagged Germany's contribution to the Iraq reconstruction effort as "important" following a meeting with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Washington.

Actually, this is a plot by Bush to utterly destroy Schroeder and his SPD in the fall election. Bush accuses Schroeder of involvement in the Iraq War. This is the kiss of death. ;^)

Posted by: Jabba the Tutt at June 29, 2005 4:22 PM

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