The UN, US and Iraq IV

But as Gautam said, the Sun is a good choice for Bush's address to the people because most Sun readers don't actually read, prefering to "look" at the pretty pictures of Sonia, 20 from London, on page 3.

But I have decided the best protest I can make is not to show up. I will read hear or see nothing of this earth shattering event until Friday when Airforce One is climbing to 10,000 feet on a bearing of 255 degrees, and a tearful Tony Blair is in his motorcade heading back to Downing Street.

The exact details of the president's itinerary are being withheld for security reasons although he is scheduled to attend a series of functions both in London and the North East. The key events of the three-day visit are listed here.

Tuesday

Early evening: Air Force One will touch down in London with the president's motorcade set to make its way to Buckingham Palace.

Evening: The president will meet the Prince of Wales for a private meeting ahead of the ceremonial welcome on Wednesday.

Wednesday

Morning: The Queen will be joined by the prime minister and Cabinet members at a formal ceremony to welcome the first US president afforded a full state visit for over 80 years.

Mid-morning: The president and the Queen, along with Laura Bush and members of the Royal family, will exchange gifts in Buckingham Palace.

Around 11.00am: George W Bush will hold short meetings with Conservative leader Michael Howard and Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy.

Early afternoon: Amid unprecedented security George W Bush and his motorcade will make their way to the Banqueting House in Whitehall where he will deliver a speech on the transatlantic relationship.

Mid-afternoon: The president is set to meet with the families of those killed in the September 11 attacks on the twin towers in New York.

Evening: The Queen formally hosts a state banquet in honour of the president and the first lady. In attendance will be senior members of the government and opposition parties.

Thursday

Morning: Tens of thousands of "Stop Bush" protesters are expected to march through the centre of London in protest at the president's visit and the war in Iraq.

Mid-morning: The president will visit the tomb of the unknown warrior before touring Westminster Abbey. He may also visit the Palace of Westminster but will not address a joint session of both Houses of Parliament.

Mid-morning: George Bush is set to meet with service personnel who fought in both the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts. He is also expected to meet with the families of British soldiers killed in Iraq.

Late morning: The president joins the prime minister for talks in Downing Street before a pre-lunch press conference.

Lunchtime: Tony Blair and George W Bush lunch with senior members of their teams in Downing Street. Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson will prepare the meal. Cherie Blair and Laura Bush will dine separately before watching schoolchildren perform works of Shakespeare.

Early afternoon: The prime minister and the president convene a round table discussion with charities and NGOs on the Aids epidemic in Africa.

Late afternoon: The president is expected to return to Buckingham Palace where he will prepare to attend a reciprocal dinner hosted by the US.

Evening: The Queen and Prince Philip are the guests of the first family at a reciprocal banquet.

Friday:

Morning: The Queen formally says goodbye to her guest from the US at a ceremony in London.

Mid-morning: The presidential motorcade and Air Force One arrive in the North East.

Late morning: George W Bush and Tony Blair visit the prime minister's Sedgefield constituency.

Lunchtime: Constituents from Sedgefield meet the prime minister and the president for lunch.

Early afternoon: The president and Mrs Bush return to Washington.

Walter--
I was referring to Blatham's response that Bush should visit military families to provide comfort. He has.
I wasn't discussing his itinerary in the UK.

Secondly, that I will tell them that their loved one did not die vain.

Some folks no doubt would criticize the way he laces his shoes. Consider both source and context.
It is understandable some on The far Fringes of The Left, in their simplistic way, would personify an individual as malicious instigator of the diminution and marginalization they have visited upon themselves. It is sad commentary on The Left that the notion has not remained out there on the fringe, but has enchanted the mob and become mantra. They truly do not grasp that.

Updated 8/6/99 9:40 PM

THE OTHER TALK STORY

In the week before [Karla Faye Tucker's] execution, Bush says, Bianca Jagger and a number of other protesters came to Austin to demand clemency for Tucker. "Did you meet with any of them?" I ask.

Bush whips around and stares at me. "No, I didn't meet with any of them," he snaps, as though I've just asked the dumbest, most offensive question ever posed. "I didn't meet with Larry King either when he came down for it. I watched his interview with [Tucker], though. He asked her real difficult questions, like 'What would you say to Governor Bush?' "

"What was her answer?" I wonder.

"Please," Bush whimpers, his lips pursed in mock desperation, "don't kill me."

This charming little vignette comes from Tucker Carlson's profile of George W. Bush in the premiere issue of Talk. Carlson's attitude toward Bush is clearly positive. But the profile is nonetheless devastating, because Carlson is a good reporter who's captured his subject's unattractive aspects as well as his appealing ones.

Carlson's major theme is that Bush is "comfortable with himself" and "doesn't give a damn what you think of him." (Message: I don't care.) He has risen above the obsession with what other people think that marks most politicians. Yet the Bush who emerges from the profile is remarkably thin-skinned. Carlson notes that while "the Larry King-Karla Faye Tucker exchange Bush recounted never took place" on television, "Tucker did imply that Bush was succumbing to election-year pressure from pro-death penalty voters. Apparently Bush never forgot it. He has a long memory for slights." If this is what Bush considers payback, remind us to stay on his compassionate side.

For sheer ugliness, nothing else in the article matches Bush's remarks on the death penalty. (When he sees Carlson's horrified reaction, Bush "immediately stops smirking": " 'It's tough stuff,' Bush says, suddenly somber, 'but my job is to enforce the law.'") But the section other Republicans in the race are likely to seize on comes when Carlson asks "whether the number of abortions has gone up or down since he's been governor. 'I don't know,' he shrugs. . . . 'Probably down. Not because of anything we've done, though. We haven't passed any laws.'" Where Carlson sees a refreshing reluctance to exaggerate accomplishments, others -- including a lot of pro-lifers who have been giving Bush the benefit of the doubt -- are likely to see a breezy indifference to what Bush says he considers to be the taking of innocent human life. (The abortion rate in Texas, incidentally, has declined slightly since 1994.)

Apart from specific gaffes, conservative readers may conclude that Bush just doesn't seem presidential -- at least by pre-Clinton standards. He swears, a lot, in public. He cries. In response to a question after a speech, Bush mentions that he was not a virgin when he got married. How different is this from Clinton's having answered the boxers-or-briefs question, for which he's been pounded for years?

Bush, according to Carlson, "believes that his connection to his softer emotional side is part of the key to political success." But in this profile, his flippant, vulgar, and arrogant side is more visible. No wonder Bush's aides are trying to undercut the story. Says spokesman Scott McClellan, "In some areas it reflected the governor's personality and in others we felt the writer misread the governor." As for Karla Faye Tucker's execution, "Anyone who knows the governor knows that it was a very emotional and agonizing decision he took very seriously." He's not saying Bush was misquoted.

For a selection of recent Washington Bulletins click here

If the shoe pinches, don't wear it.

Hell, Walter, anyone can see that particular type of shoe comes in neither your size nor your style.

Some folks no doubt would criticize the way he laces his shoes.

Consider both source and context.

It is understandable some on The far Fringes of The Left, in their simplistic way,

would personify an individual

as malicious instigator

of the diminution and marginalization the

] have visited upon themselves

It is sad commentary

on The Left that the notion

has not remained out there on the fringe, but has enchanted the mob

and become mantra. They

truly do not grasp that