But somebody forgot to brief Bush that Spain is not Mexico, that the cowboy chic is not fashionable in Europe. The Spanish press howled when the U.S. press called Aznar’s grand country retreat a “ranch.” (Sorry, that’s what all of our briefing books said.) Los Quintos de Mora-as it is known-is a 20,000-acre national game preserve, home to the endangered Iberian lynx among other protected wildlife. The Spaniards joked that maybe Bush would feel more at home if he could hunt the big-antlered deer that roamed the property.
When he visited Mexico, Bush was praised for peppering his answers with half-phrases in Spanish. Even when he botched the pronunciation, most Mexicans thought it was great that he tried. But in Madrid, they are very clear to point out that they speak “Castellano”-supposedly a more refined version of Spanish. They were going to hold Bush to a higher standard. He went into his joint press conference with President Aznar with a strike against him. Before arriving, Bush had mistakenly called him President Anzar.
Bush gave it a good shot. He even started out by using the Spaniards’ pronunciation of the letter Z. He praised president “Athnar” and tried to relate to Spaniards by talking about how many Spanish-speakers live in the United States. He gave a nod to Cervantes. Then, in the best Castellano he could muster, Bush said: “Es un enorme placer estar en Espana, cuya gran cultura ha marcado profundamente mi pais.” One Spanish-speaking journalist looked at me and said, “What did he say?” Because of Bush’s accent, the Spaniards needed the translation as much as we did. (He said: “It’s an enormous pleasure to be in Spain, whose culture has profoundly affected my country.”)
It only got worse. When a reporter from one of the major Spanish daily newspapers, El Mundo, asked a weighty question, Bush tried to be cute. “Es possible. Es importante,” he said. It just made him look foolish. Only the King of Spain, Juan Carlos, got into the spirit of Bush’s jokes in Spanish. At a morning meeting at the King’s country home, Zarzuela (thankfully Bush did not try to pronounce it Tharthuela), Juan Carlos called National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, “Condoleezza Arroz.” President Athnar (who Bush went back to calling Aznar half way through the afternoon press conference) seemed hard-pressed to praise the president’s Spanish. “He is getting better and better every day,” Aznar said.
During the nearly three-hour meeting between the two leaders and their bevy of aides, however, they seemed to be speaking the same language more often than not. Bush hates “diplobabble”-the flowery and circuitous language of diplomacy (used especially by the French). Aznar was reasonably plain-spoken for a European. Of course their lunch (gazpacho with lobster, paella with local fowl, Serrano ham, Manchego cheese, hake and strawberry ice cream with berries for dessert) was a far cry from the PB&J sandwiches favored by Bush. While he disagreed with Bush’s rejection of the Kyoto global-warming accord, Aznar was receptive to Bush’s most heartfelt issue: missile defense. One senior administration official explained later that the White House had stopped using the term “national” missile defense when Europeans complained it was not inclusive.
In a subtle display of loyalty that won him huge points in Bush’s eyes, Aznar seemed to take a retaliatory shot at Germany and France’s leaders, who had taken a preemptive strike against Bush’s approach to missile defense (and global warming) by making a joint statement Tuesday morning. “What I’m surprised by is the fact that there are people who, from the start, disqualified this initiative,” Aznar said.
For Bush, diplomacy is all about personal politics. When he first took office he followed a lesson from his father and began making phone calls to world leaders just to say hello. His father was able to build a personal connection with these leaders before he needed them in a crisis. Many credit those relationships for the success of the gulf war. This President Bush is trying to do the same with European leaders. When Bush was in briefings for the trip, aides say, many of his questions had to do with what kind of men these European leaders are. Bush began his press conference by praising Aznar personally. “He’s a man who understands the importance of families,” Bush said.
Some Spaniards were less thrilled about the apparent simpatico between the two men. “Bush Assesino! Aznar Complice!” (Bush Killer! Aznar Accomplice!") a small crowd of some 100 protestors outside the U.S. Embassy yelled. The National Police stood by calmly as they protested everything from the death penalty to Bush’s Cuba policy. For a country that just a few decades ago was policed by the Guardia Civil-a paramiliatry squad known for its capes and odd patent-leather hats who used to crack down on dissenters with a vengeance-the protest was an encouraging example of the new Europe. The Guardia still exists, but now with more benign missions, including U.N. peacekeeping-not to mention that their odd hats are now made out of plastic. The Guardia Civil was no where near the protest, where one sign called Bush the “Cowboy Atila.”
But if Spain found Bush a bit of a cowboy, the rest of the European Union was bracing itself for a wholesale rustler. “Every new president is some kind of caricature in Europe until the first trip,” White House chief of staff Andy Card told reporters on the flight to Belgium. “They don’t know him yet. They’ll come to know him.”
He may not be able to make an amigo out of France’s Jacques Chirac, however. The two men butt heads today in Brussels over the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty. Chirac called it a “pillar” while Bush called it “relic.” Culturally, Bush just doesn’t get the French. They drink a lot of wine, are pretty much unrepentant socialists and they have no tolerance for mispronouncing their language. Thankfully for Bush, he did not even try. Still, he was determined to launch his charm offensive in whatever language necessary. After a four-hour meeting with NATO leaders, Bush chose the international language of chocolate. On an unscheduled stop at one of Brussels’s renowned chocolate shops, Mary Chocolatier, a pumped-up Bush joked around with the press and talked about his plan to make buddies out of everyone he can. “I will get along with every leader,” Bush said. “I haven’t had a chance to nurture a relationship beyond some casual conversations.” He has three more days to chat them up-and he plans to stick to English.
