I turned on the BBC at 6:00AM last week to see our president in a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel as a prelude to the G8 Summit. I don't remember many specifics - yes the pig was mentioned - but I was struck by the fact that he continually referred to this head of state as "Angela", not even bothering to pronounce it correctly. It seemed to me that this was not only disrespectful, but intentionaly dismissive.
So, when he gave the Chancellor a "back rub" (if you haven't seen it you must:http://www.crooksandliars.com/... I was, shall we say, shocked, but not surprised.
Bush's attitude at the press conference set the tone with his dealings with this head of state, and the back rub confirmed his 19th Century feelings about women in power. The sexual inappropriatenesss of this act has been written about a great deal, but the contempt it shows for all women is the real story. "Oh -- She's tense, You know how women are, I'll give her a back rub and RELAX her. This is an insult to all women, especially those who have made sacrifices to achieve an equal voice in the halls of power. Chancellor Merkel's politics do not agree with mine, but today I am outraged for her.