On The Trail Of Trailblazer

‘IT is a safe bet that President Bush knows little about the Rugby World Cup – a safe bet because President Bush knows little and because World Cups traditionally take place on American soil with only American participants.

”What time do you want your wake-up call?”

Whether the Queen spent last night trying to educate the President on the finer points of the rolling maul we don’t know, but we are glad to see that George Dubya has emerged from his first night at Buckingham Palace unscathed.

No bomb blew him up, no salty snack choked him to death nor, we presume, did any Royal servant mistake him for Prince Charles and administer an unscheduled wake-up call.

Indeed, such is the ring of steel erected around the President, by the end of the visit he will be able to report back to his countrymen that London is a virtually uninhabited city with few or no cars to be seen.

All the more so because the Times says the President, whose Secret Service codename is Trailblazer, has cancelled his only scheduled public appearance.

The paper says last-minute security fears were responsible for the dropping of plans to meet families of British victims of 9/11 at the memorial garden outside the US embassy.

All of which explains why the Telegraph has dubbed Bush ”the invisible visitor”, albeit an invisible visitor with 700 friends.

In fact, the Guardian says the size of the entourage is ”worthy of a travelling medieval monarch” – a good analogy given the President’s Manichean view of the world.’

Posted: 19th, November 2003 | In: Broadsheets Comment | TrackBack | Permalink