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Europe
Spain's Zapatero calls, but White House won't pick up
2004-11-11
The White House has put out word daily of calls flooding in from around the world to congratulate President Bush on his re-election victory. But somehow, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero just hasn't been able to get his call past the switchboard. Zapatero phoned Bush not long after his Nov. 2 win but wasn't put through to the president. More than a week after the voting, the two leaders still have not hooked up.

The White House explanation signaled something of a cold shoulder toward the Spanish leader, who angered the administration by withdrawing troops from Iraq just after taking office in April. "I think that may be the case, that he has tried to reach out," Bush press secretary Scott McClellan said Wednesday. "Calls are scheduled at times that are mutually convenient. Some calls are able to be scheduled quicker than others." Meanwhile, Bush met privately Tuesday at the White House with Spain's former prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, who was a chief Bush ally in the war in Iraq.
Posted by:Mark Espinola

#19  I still say The Zap looks more like Mr Bean.
Posted by: Mark Espinola   2004-11-11 3:44:22 PM  

#18  Calls are scheduled at times that are mutually convenient. Some calls are able to be scheduled quicker than others.

I'm George W. Bush and I approve this message.
Posted by: George W. Bush   2004-11-11 12:25:50 PM  

#17  Hey! Another Legend! What are the odds?
Posted by: Jack Tatum   2004-11-11 12:08:50 PM  

#16  thanks Jack.....
Posted by: Daryl Stingley   2004-11-11 11:50:16 AM  

#15  Someone let on to the PM that a good nuance to the spine is the best communication.
Posted by: Jack Tatum   2004-11-11 11:45:34 AM  

#14  "Por habla espanol...press 2."
Posted by: tu3031   2004-11-11 11:41:45 AM  

#13  Help! I'm overwhelmed with illuminating but contradictory information!

Ambassador Retief (one of my favorites when I was younger), please clarify your meaning to this computing end-user and non-watcher of professional sports. Thank you.

But I did check out your link, Lux, and now I understand what my kidlings are doing. (Not to mention the strange spellings and vocab. I thought were strictly a Rantburg thing.) Thanks!
Posted by: trailing wife   2004-11-11 11:19:04 AM  

#12  James Retief? Could it be? "Diplomat at Arms"? Does anybody actually remember those great books by Keith Laumer? I'm impressed.
Posted by: Weird Al   2004-11-11 10:52:32 AM  

#11  Even Zapatero's own party doesn't take this idiot seriously-- they call him "Bambi" in Spain. In fact they nominated him precisely because they expected Aznar to win easily, and didn't want to waste one of their A-list candidates in a losing effort.

Run along, Bambi
Posted by: lex   2004-11-11 10:44:40 AM  

#10  has nobody here played/seriously watched sports? Football, BBall - someone gets "owned" when they're repeatedly beaten to the score or can't keep up with the opponents' moves....one step prior to being someone's "bitch"....eh, Jack?
Posted by: Frank G   2004-11-11 10:05:08 AM  

#9  Heya Zappy the Pin Head, does it seem like a good idea now to exclude the US from your "Spanish Day" parade?
Posted by: OldSpook   2004-11-11 8:48:10 AM  

#8  I'm familiar with "0wn3d", and as someone who has owned boxes in the past, I say Jame Retief used it wrong. Dumbass.

And the executive order banning assassination (if it still exists) is to protect the U.S. President from assassination attempts by other nations. Sort of a reverse M.A.D.
Posted by: gromky   2004-11-11 8:44:31 AM  

#7  "Owned" - when a hacker manages to penetrate a computer and gain access to administrative-level functions. At that point the hacker may choose at that time to do things like change passwords, install malicious software or undo security privileges.

The implication is that Bush is the one in a position of power vs. Zapatero in the relationship, and that he accomplished that despite Zapatero's hostility against him.
Posted by: rkb   2004-11-11 8:43:17 AM  

#6  I bet Bush likes his chats with Chirac.

"Say, Jacques, so how's the economy going for ya? Did I tell you our latest growth predictions? I'm not sure if I remember yours. Remind me."

"Yeah, we're quite busy in Iraq. Been cleaning up a few places recently. ... Contracts, you say? ... Sorry, ami, I have to let Allawi decide. You guys chewed the fat about that sort of thing recently, did't you? ... You couldn't make it? Oh, that's too bad."

"So, how's that African adventure of yours panning out, viewed from Paris?" [click] "Jacques?"
Posted by: Bulldog   2004-11-11 8:38:46 AM  

#5  "Calls are scheduled at times that are mutually convenient. Some calls are able to be scheduled quicker than others."

***SMACK!!***

I approve. This snub is appropriate, as Zapatero went well out of his way to earn our contempt. Chirac should get the same treatment.
Posted by: Dave D.   2004-11-11 8:25:28 AM  

#4  Can you hear me now? Hello?
Posted by: Ol_Dirty_American   2004-11-11 8:03:09 AM  

#3  Owned is a popular example of l33t speak, probably one which is going to eventually get into dictionaries, see here
Posted by: Lux   2004-11-11 7:45:42 AM  

#2  Zapatero got owned by GWB

Huh?
Posted by: trailing wife   2004-11-11 7:17:42 AM  

#1  Old news . . . several days old . . . but worthy of mention. Zapatero got owned by GWB, who unhesistatingly took the proper step of ignoring the appeaser. Now if it just wasn't for that executive order banning assasination we could make it look like the jihadis . . . ummm . . . I'll shut up now.
Posted by: Jame Retief   2004-11-11 6:41:37 AM  

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