Bush comes to aid of Secret Service agent
Back to the GW Bush Page


Saturday, November 20, 2004

(11-20) 17:29 PST SANTIAGO, Chile (AP)

President Bush stepped into the middle of a confrontation and pulled his lead Secret Service agent away from Chilean security officials who barred his bodyguards from entering an elegant dinner for 21 world leaders Saturday night.

Several Chilean and American agents got into a pushing and shoving match outside the cultural center where the dinner was held. The incident happened after Bush and his wife, Laura, had just posed for pictures on a red carpet with the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Chilean President Ricardo Lagos and his wife, Luisa Duran.

As Bush stepped inside, Chilean agents closed ranks at the door, blocking the president's agents from following. Stopping for more pictures, Bush noticed the fracas and turned back. He reached through the dispute and pulled his agent from the scrum and into the building.

The president, looking irritated, straightened his shirt cuffs as he went into the dinner. The incident was shown on APEC television.

"Chilean security tried to stop the president's Secret Service from accompanying him," said White House deputy press secretary Claire Buchan. "He told them they were with him and the issue was resolved."

URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/11/20/international1900EST0603.DTL

©2004 Associated Press

Reply 1 - Posted by: Landshark, 11/20/2004 8:15:20 PM

Hold my jacket...LOL


Reply 2 - Posted by: lyter, 11/20/2004 8:15:35 PM

Another example why members of the USSS Presidential Protective Division respect this President and would do anything for him.


Reply 3 - Posted by: tropicanagold, 11/20/2004 8:15:51 PM

This looked great on TV. Our President is no sissy! Hope this is the picture on Lucianne's home page tonight.


Reply 4 - Posted by: Peleliu1944, 11/20/2004 8:17:08 PM

Whew! What a hottie!

Great comment #1. LOL


Reply 5 - Posted by: Blue Moon, 11/20/2004 8:17:55 PM

Awesome! He's not to be messed with!

Photos can be seen here:

http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?ei=ISO-8859-1&c=news_photos&p=bush


Reply 6 - Posted by: Ecclesiastes, 11/20/2004 8:19:29 PM

The American President looked iritated ... that's an "oh ****" moment for most of the world.


Reply 7 - Posted by: cdihlmrk, 11/20/2004 8:20:23 PM

I saw the clip of this on Fox News. I was suprised to see GWB head right into the crowd of men where all of the commotion was occurring. For all he knew someone could have been trying to get at him to do him harm. It was pretty impressive.


Reply 8 - Posted by: DontTreadOnMe, 11/20/2004 8:21:03 PM

Contrast this to when Kerry was snowboarding and one of his secret service agents and Kerry collided. All Kerry did was cuss out the agent. What a classless jerk.


Reply 9 - Posted by: Duke of Duval, 11/20/2004 8:21:32 PM

I've always wondered about the potential for friction when the Pesident goes to some place like that with his armed Secret Service agents. I would think the Secret Serevice agency would have all that settled and taken care of before he even agreed to leave for such a place.


Reply 10 - Posted by: youngtexan, 11/20/2004 8:21:33 PM

Kerry treated his agents like crap.


Reply 11 - Posted by: LadyK, 11/20/2004 8:22:17 PM

President Bush is just plain AWSOME!
Instead of cussing out his agents HE takes a RISK and comes to the aid of the agent!!!!
Will Dan Rather or the other leftist media show this?
Doubt it.


Reply 12 - Posted by: TiminPhoenix, 11/20/2004 8:22:59 PM

He is THE MAN......

Kerry would have taken a poll of those in the hall, arrange a meeting with the UN, and sought talks with Luxemburg to see if it was ok to help the agent.

He would have then researched it to find out if he had been the EXPLETIVE DELETED who had caused him, the one who never falls, to have gone down while skiing.


Reply 13 - Posted by: LittleHoodedMonk, 11/20/2004 8:25:07 PM

'Bush comes to aid of Secret Service agent'

Just can't wait to see if the MSM 'reports' this. It would be time to dust off their old word GRAVITAS to explain Dubya's actions.


Reply 14 - Posted by: Penney, 11/20/2004 8:36:30 PM

Don't mess with Texas!


Reply 15 - Posted by: osu mom, 11/20/2004 8:36:57 PM

"The president, looking irritated, straightened his shirt cuffs as he went into the dinner. The incident was shown on APEC television."

I caught it on FOX...it was just WONDERFUL...and, he WAS irritated...I just LOVE IT when he gets a tad irritated.


Reply 16 - Posted by: rocket scientist, 11/20/2004 8:37:14 PM

If this happened to Kerry maybe he would have summoned someone like max Cleland to come to the rescue in his wheelchair and try to deliver the Chilean Agents a letter asking them to back down and allow his agents to enter. Meanwhile he would be cussing out his agents with 4-letter words and telling them how stupid they were.


Reply 17 - Posted by: buffelen, 11/20/2004 8:38:30 PM

What #8 said.


Reply 18 - Posted by: Tulsa, 11/20/2004 8:40:49 PM

A man. A real, honest to goodness, man.

Yes he is.

and fearless.

I didn't know this President could impress me more than he already has, but he did.


Reply 19 - Posted by: NoLibsNoLies, 11/20/2004 8:41:16 PM

I would love it if Lord Kerry's SS detail would get together and write an article about their time protecting that jerk.


Reply 20 - Posted by: Sunflower, 11/20/2004 8:43:54 PM

First I heard of this, but this is the difference between the Class and the riff-raff, who have to phone a friend to tell them what to do. President Bush goes to aid his Secret Service Agent, hanoi heinz kerry, blames an Agent for his fall, which he does often. Which Agent did he blame for his losing the election, by over 3 million votes????


Reply 21 - Posted by: JoniTx, 11/20/2004 8:44:11 PM

No. 14 said it all! Love this Prez.


Reply 22 - Posted by: earlybird, 11/20/2004 8:48:07 PM

What they did was rather chilling. I wouldn't go anywhere down there without my Secret Service detail. He handled it - but he should never have had to. Bad, bad.


Reply 23 - Posted by: DuvalCrawler, 11/20/2004 8:49:05 PM

... and the Clintons would have just thrown the agent to the dogs.

What a story that agent will have to tell his grandkids! GO W!!!


Reply 24 - Posted by: StephaniePlum, 11/20/2004 8:52:42 PM

A little dust-up at the entrance (way to go, cowboy) "...and then he straightened his cuffs before he went in to dinner." A true gentleman ... Barbara taught him well.

/SP/


Reply 25 - Posted by: thelmalou, 11/20/2004 8:53:28 PM

Oh, Lordy, but I do love this man!!! Way to go, W!!!!!!!


Reply 26 - Posted by: donna quixote, 11/20/2004 8:58:15 PM

W. was probaably cussing out the Chilean security agents.


Reply 27 - Posted by: suziannr, 11/20/2004 8:58:19 PM

It IS rather chilling. I wonder if this had any of the possibilites that come to mind. I'm sure he had more than one body guard but where were they when he went back to that group at the door? You can see from the pics that he reacted when it was called for but I wonder how dangerous this actually was. I pray for his protection every day.


Reply 28 - Posted by: amylu, 11/20/2004 8:58:55 PM

I'm leaving my W'04 sticker on my car. I love reminding the world that I'm a "Bushie"!

God bless him!


Reply 29 - Posted by: LadyK, 11/20/2004 9:00:29 PM

President Bush and Ronald Reagan are alike in that they look out for and respect those who work with them, regardless of level or rank. President Reagan always saluted the guards and soldiers. I noticed that Bush does this too. He genuinely cares about the fellow Americans he works with.
I am sure Mr. Reagan would be smiling at Bush today. With that twinkle in his eye he would have said something clever. President Bush is not a pantywaste girly man. He IS a REAL man.
I bet Laura and Barbara will be telling him what for later.....He did say he listened to his wife, and he does call his mom.
President Bush is impressive. He knows what is right and does it.


Reply 30 - Posted by: nattering_nabob, 11/20/2004 9:01:42 PM

What a stud.


Reply 31 - Posted by: Landshark, 11/20/2004 9:06:05 PM

I just got an e-mail from Bill Clinton. He wanted to remind you all that he would have done the same thing but he was being pursued by a $40 million dollar Republican witch hunt.


Reply 32 - Posted by: MsFalconersCabanaBoy, 11/20/2004 9:07:55 PM

LOL #31!

Zing!


Reply 33 - Posted by: esgaroth, 11/20/2004 9:10:17 PM

*sigh*

What a MAN W is!!!

God bless President GW and First Lady Laura!!!


Reply 34 - Posted by: heidi cat, 11/20/2004 9:10:58 PM

and they heard him exclaim, as he strode out of sight...

"ah'll be beck"


Reply 35 - Posted by: judy, 11/20/2004 9:16:45 PM

This total lack of security scares me.


Reply 36 - Posted by: libertyhound, 11/20/2004 9:18:36 PM

You take care of him, he takes care of you. A real commander in chief. Well done, Prez!


Reply 37 - Posted by: LadyK, 11/20/2004 9:20:09 PM

Nothing better happen to W or Chili will have h to pay.


Reply 38 - Posted by: slab, 11/20/2004 9:25:31 PM

Cool. Kerry wouldn't have reacted like that, but Teraaaaazzzza coulda whacked 'em with a gin bottle.


Reply 39 - Posted by: slickwillie2001, 11/20/2004 9:26:06 PM

Strange incident. If you are thinking about security, you think -is the danger back at the door where the agent is being delayed, or ahead where the President would not have that agent with him. I always worry about his security in these third-world countries.


Reply 40 - Posted by: ssMom, 11/20/2004 9:26:27 PM

It'll never happen, #19. SS Agents are prohibited from writing any books about their protectees, especially a tell-all type of book.


Reply 41 - Posted by: LAW428, 11/20/2004 9:29:50 PM

I'll bet our Prez wears a superhero costume under his suits...man o' man this guy has the stuff!


Reply 42 - Posted by: cap MarineTet68, 11/20/2004 9:32:51 PM

Pure, unadulterated CLASS!
What a "Man's Man!"
Semper Fi!


Reply 43 - Posted by: Peleliu1944, 11/20/2004 9:34:58 PM

When the president was here a month ago or so, there was a heckler in the audience. The SS was no where in sight. It took a citizen in the crowd to grab the punk by the throat and drag his behind out the door to cops waiting by the door. SS sure showed up and took away the citizen that dragged the little puke out, though. Made me wonder just how lax the security is.


Reply 44 - Posted by: Leatris, 11/20/2004 9:40:36 PM

That's my President! Go on ahead Sir. Show them how a real man does business. And a Texan no less.


Reply 45 - Posted by: esgaroth, 11/20/2004 9:50:24 PM

Keep up the heavy prayers for this man. We need the archangels of heaven on President Bush's side. The Chileans knew better, they were sure to have been made aware who the SS guards were...and they acted in a way that should be very alarming!

Pray, y'all...and President Bush, BE CAREFUL!!!!


Reply 46 - Posted by: SallyVee, 11/20/2004 9:50:29 PM

I adore George W. Bush.

*swoon*

I am reading "A Matter of Character" by Ron Kessler right now. People, it is a MUST read. You will relish every sentence of every page. Along about page 36 you'll find out just how ancient the rift is, between our All-American Real Deal President and the Snooty Nor'East Pretenders like Kerry... GWB showed up at his Harvard MBA classes wearing jeans, cowboy boots, his Nat'l Guard flight jacket and chewing tobacco. I imagine he'd have thrown a punch without hesitation, if that little scene in Chile had escalated.


Reply 47 - Posted by: felix318, 11/20/2004 9:52:00 PM

I'm ready for him to open a big can of Texas whoopass on the girlymen democrats in January!


Reply 48 - Posted by: Tulsa, 11/20/2004 9:53:23 PM

The President is in God's hands. We all are. ...and the President isn't a foolish man.

The SS is the best security detail in the world. This was one agent. There were plenty of agents already inside and the place was as secure as possible.

Being separated was a fluke. and I know. It only takes one fluke. Re read: He's in God's hands.

worry is self torment. So stop it.


Reply 49 - Posted by: Platovna, 11/20/2004 9:55:50 PM

Finally, a man worthy of the title!


Reply 50 - Posted by: samjohnson, 11/20/2004 9:56:01 PM

Our guy is clear about being a man. No metrosexual, Andy Sullivan-like, let's blur the differences between the sexes- postmodern nonsense for him. Men act, they don't pontificate, in the face of potential threats.


Reply 51 - Posted by: LadyK, 11/20/2004 9:57:45 PM

Clear thinking poster #48 is appreciated and respected.


Reply 52 - Posted by: walcb, 11/20/2004 9:58:01 PM

Looking at the pictures, it appears that a SS agent was blocked, W retrieved him and then later after W gave a speach there was a scuffle between a US SS man and a Chilean gaurd. Is this about how it went down?


Reply 53 - Posted by: esgaroth, 11/20/2004 9:58:56 PM

Then, #48 I pray an archangel be there for the One Chance that others will surely vie for. This was not a good situation...and because I know the SS men are teh best in the world, I cast my disparagement upon the Chileans. This was a corrupt move and it is being watched. I blame the Chileans. They knew what they were about.


Reply 54 - Posted by: GreatPlains, 11/20/2004 10:02:07 PM

So typical of George Bush.
His detail is in trouble and he rides to the rescue.
If punches were needed, I have no doubt that George Bush would have been there.
Like he is for the whole country.
And the military.
We are so blessed to have such an incredible and awesome man as George Bush as President of the United States.
So blessed.


Reply 55 - Posted by: foont, 11/20/2004 10:03:05 PM

Real leaders stand up for their people. Our president is a real leader. IMO this is one of the prime reasons he was reelected. He is not perfect, makes mistakes and doesn't pretend to be omniscient or invulnerable. But he LEADS and is so obviously trying to do the best he can for the benefit of the nation that only blind partisanship and hatred could lead to any other conclusion. I think most of us see this and the incessant and insane attacks made against him anger us because they are so blatantly unfair and divorced from reality.


Reply 56 - Posted by: greggojo, 11/20/2004 10:03:51 PM

After the dreadful way the Clinton's have treated the Secret Service and the White House staff (and the military personnel assigned to the White House, come to think of it) and the dreadful way that Kerry treated the officers that were assigned to him, I would imagine that no one was happier about W's victory than these loyal hardworking men who have to put their lives on the line for our President and his family.


Reply 57 - Posted by: donna quixote, 11/20/2004 10:06:56 PM

Bush is truly a real man. It's easy to picture him in the helmet and war paint (and Marlboro) or that soldier in Iraq.


Reply 58 - Posted by: ssMom, 11/20/2004 10:08:43 PM

While you are praying for the President, please include the secret service agents - theirs is not an easy job - very stressful and they are away from their families a lot. Pray that there will be a hedge of protection around them as they protect the people they are assigned to.


Reply 59 - Posted by: LadyK, 11/20/2004 10:13:29 PM

58, okey dokey. Done. God bless all our SS.


Reply 60 - Posted by: esgaroth, 11/20/2004 10:15:55 PM

While you are praying for the President, please include the secret service agents

Dittos dittos dittos...(I meant them too of course! :D )


Reply 61 - Posted by: Penney, 11/20/2004 10:16:14 PM

Amen.


Reply 62 - Posted by: Lou E. Brown, 11/20/2004 10:18:09 PM

Now and then a truly great man (or woman) comes along and makes us proud to have him in our lives and our nation. God is good, and continues to bless America.


Reply 63 - Posted by: Mushroom, 11/20/2004 10:19:17 PM

Consider the individuals assigned to the U.S. President are prepared to lay down their life for their charge.
Now, consider someone telling you, ''No''.

President Bush squelched a whole bunch of bad happenings in this one honest movement.


Reply 64 - Posted by: usmcsarge, 11/20/2004 10:21:26 PM

Forget about that nothingness Kerry. The Clintons treated their SS agents like the lowest of dirt. Trouble is, Bill and Hill never realized they are the low class dirt.

Old Marine Sarge


Reply 65 - Posted by: Douglas DC, 11/20/2004 10:22:31 PM

As my old Chief Pilot Used to say:"Command
Authority!"God Bless our President.
(who I wouldn't want to take on in a fair fight.)


Reply 66 - Posted by: slickwillie2001, 11/20/2004 10:29:23 PM

How a person treats the help, or a waitress in a restaurant, for example, tells a lot about the character of that person.


Reply 67 - Posted by: PatrickHenry599, 11/20/2004 10:31:04 PM

We must always remember to pray for our President when he is in these foreign countries.


Reply 68 - Posted by: jatfla, 11/20/2004 10:35:32 PM

#48...don't get the big-head, but I wrote "worry is self-torment--so stop it" in my Bible. Heck, I may put it on my refrig.!

If anyone hasn't read "The Faith of George W. Bush"...do. It's excellent.

No, he isn't our god; but he does lead and make us proud. Let's remember this when he aggrevates us, ok?


Reply 69 - Posted by: Orion, 11/20/2004 10:43:50 PM

Who's protecting whom?


Reply 70 - Posted by: droy, 11/20/2004 10:50:00 PM

Kinda like Captain Woodrow Call in Lonesome Dove 'W won't tolerate rude behavior'


Reply 71 - Posted by: Coy860, 11/20/2004 10:52:28 PM

As far as I am concerned, the President can't get out of that God forsaken country fast enough.
I hope he stays HOME for a while.
I don't like this, I don't like this..it bodes ill..there appears to have been a weak link in the chain.


Reply 72 - Posted by: barbill4, 11/20/2004 10:54:00 PM

What a visual! Prez straightening his cuffs after coming out of a melee. Shades of Dirty Harry! What a stand up guy. You betcha bootie he would have throuwn a punch had the situation demanded it.

Mamamoose


Reply 73 - Posted by: TheTech, 11/20/2004 10:54:41 PM

The Lord does protect us, but rarely do we see divine intervention. That is why God gave us our own free will.
Pres. Bush was alerted by a message from God and he acted. That is because he is blessed and so are we!
I question what may have been planned by the Chilean police and was thwarted by our President himself.
We will never know.


Reply 74 - Posted by: bbinsf, 11/20/2004 10:56:18 PM

He ain't the Most Powerful Man In The World fer nuthin'!


Reply 75 - Posted by: YY4U, 11/20/2004 10:59:19 PM

Contrast Bush's behavior with Clinton's cowardice and you see why the former flew fighter jets and the other is afraid of getting into the bathtub without a life jacket.


Reply 76 - Posted by: Penney, 11/20/2004 11:02:17 PM

Proverbs 3:5-6, Romans 8:28


Reply 77 - Posted by: gulf family, 11/20/2004 11:13:40 PM

Number 8 you summed it up perfectly. I kept a whole series of Kerry stupidity photos. The "I don't fall" one is one of my favorites.

LOL


Reply 78 - Posted by: amereagle, 11/20/2004 11:18:18 PM

BIG. CHIEF. TWO. STONES.



(and thanks #48)


Reply 79 - Posted by: gop313, 11/20/2004 11:19:10 PM

He looked AWESOME on tv! The world needs more REAL MEN like W, my husband, my son, and you LDot guys! I got goosebumps watching that man!It gives we little ladies a thrill to know that there are MEN to take care of us!!! I thank God everyday that W beat that sorry piece of liberal girlyboy!
I thought the incident was really frightening, though. Nothing good happens in the banana republics-the police are worse than the criminals. We can't pray hard enough. When I first saw it, I thought it was an attemptt to harm the President-I still do. Something was up!


Reply 80 - Posted by: thedivasmom, 11/20/2004 11:25:05 PM

I know the Pres. did what comes naturally by going back to get the SS agent, however, I fear that there is more to this situation than meets the eye. The scenerios of what this could have been to separate the President from his detail or to set him up for something he was walking into gives me the chills...I wish he would get on Air Force One and come back home ASAP and stay here


Reply 81 - Posted by: Jackie, 11/20/2004 11:34:33 PM

Pres Bush just told his SS protectors by his actions...'you watch my back and I've got yours.' This is a special man. I love our Pres...


Reply 82 - Posted by: pensom2, 11/20/2004 11:36:55 PM

I love this guy!

If this had occurred a month ago, the dems would have cried foul and claimed it was staged by Carl Rove to make Bush look good.


Reply 83 - Posted by: Tulsa, 11/20/2004 11:37:07 PM

I'm a praying person and I pray for President Bush, his family, his administration. My faith is in God. The President's is too.


Reply 84 - Posted by: lam, 11/20/2004 11:42:57 PM

Here's another sequence of photos of the incident.
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?p=bush+secret+service&ei=UTF-8&c=news_photos


Reply 85 - Posted by: reagangal, 11/20/2004 11:55:01 PM

Just think W can tell those guards in their own language that they are, well you know.
Way to go GW!


Reply 86 - Posted by: al gephart, 11/20/2004 11:55:44 PM

W is great. He's just a regular guy.


Reply 87 - Posted by: Urgent Fury, 11/21/2004 12:01:41 AM

I pray for Bush every night.

Who's in the White House?
BUSH BUSH BUSH BUSH


Reply 88 - Posted by: Pam Torson, 11/21/2004 12:08:24 AM

#28 -- I'm leaving ALL my stickers, magnets, even a window flag on my vehicle (a BIG honkin' gas-guzzlin' van, no puny SUV for me, no sir). We keep ordering more stickers and stuff even though the election is over. I call this my Republicanmobile.

This studly President makes me so dayum proud! YEE-HAW!


Reply 89 - Posted by: Mushroom, 11/21/2004 12:11:44 AM

Worry is paying intrest on a debt you may never owe.

Kudos to the fine souls that KEPT thier heads while this was going on. Cosidering these fine individuals ( on both sides of this issue) carried a bit more than a pen knife they both showed a decent amount of professionalism.
This is something that should have been prearrainged.


Reply 90 - Posted by: wolfgang von skeptik, 11/21/2004 12:13:09 AM

My respect for George Bush as a Man -- always high -- just rose again.

(Picture John Kerry in this situation: he would have gone back for the Secret Service agent before he abandoned him.)


Reply 91 - Posted by: Impalarama, 11/21/2004 12:24:40 AM

Note to the liberals: this is why character matters!


Reply 92 - Posted by: olderyzer, 11/21/2004 12:31:15 AM

Incidents like this make us so proud to have a treue leader for President. However, it also reminds us that we must keep him covered in prayer. Thank God this incident wasn't more diabolical than it appeared.

I will never forget that January day in 1981 when the Lord moved on me to drop what I was doing (microwaving lunch) and go pray intensely for about a half an hour for President Reagan's safety. Shortly afterwards I heard the news he had just been shot. God is real and prayer is powerful.


Reply 93 - Posted by: stormy, 11/21/2004 12:39:07 AM

#43, believe me, the SS had their eyes on the heckler. It may not have seemed so to you, but... Their job to is keep our President safe. While they were watching the heckler, they were also looking for other distractions. They are looking for anyone with what appears to be a weapon. If a heckler becomes threatening, they will be on top of him/her.

This incidence is just one more reason I love our President. As someone else said, ''Don't mess with Texas.'' And may I add, ...or those that live there.''


Reply 94 - Posted by: Ida Lil, 11/21/2004 12:42:28 AM

There was more than one SS agent locked out.
The photo's showed chilian guards holding back W.'s chief agent.
The story culled those agents down to body guards and ignored their particular position.
Over zealous limitation of person's allowed into the dinning hall?
Or an attempt to take down the agent?
If W. has thought the later he would have walked out on the dinner.He had Laura with him and wouldn't have endangered her.


Reply 95 - Posted by: Ida Lil, 11/21/2004 12:52:14 AM

P.S.
Kerry lost his SS protection quickly and showed up for Senate meetings with hired body guards. Either he is still self important or afraid .


Reply 96 - Posted by: wilarrbie, 11/21/2004 12:56:58 AM

Oft' stated ..brass ones! Brass?? No way! Solid Gold!! Thanksgiving approaches. We should give thanks in our prayers for our President. God Bless.


Reply 97 - Posted by: kiwi2, 11/21/2004 12:58:40 AM

I love it!

Not bad for someone who is supposedly the next Hitler and anti-Christ, eh?

Love it!


Reply 98 - Posted by: Labrador Heaven, 11/21/2004 1:06:43 AM

Like so many others have said, I got the most amazing feeling when I read the story, then saw the photos. The action he took is exactly what the agents are trained to prevent, but he took the bull by the horns, being the fabulous real man and leader he is, and took charge of a situation that yes, could've turned deadly. But he doesn't take kindly to crap. Never make this man angry.

Kind of a microcosm for his leadership style, which I'll watch day after day, always grateful for it. He is so "misunderestimated"... I'm certain Schwarzenegger was cheering him on once he heard about it! It's his style, too!


Reply 99 - Posted by: victorfree, 11/21/2004 1:08:33 AM

#73,79 my thoughts exactly. This is not a normal happening at a state dinner anywhere. And I am convinced that something was up and that it was thwarted by the actions of our Pres. Bush acting under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and protected by legions of mighty angels. I sure would like to know what the planned evil was. God Bless Pres and Mrs Bush and keep them safe along with all the agents that are protecting them. Whew!!


Reply 100 - Posted by: RC51rider, 11/21/2004 1:16:33 AM

I've never stopped being proud I'm an American, but it's sure refreshing to be able to say I'm proud of our President too!


Reply 101 - Posted by: mominNoCA, 11/21/2004 1:17:21 AM

What a change from the former WH occupants, who called their Secret Service people "pigs"!


Reply 102 - Posted by: beyond, 11/21/2004 1:18:17 AM

There is a wonderful story attached to a saying that is too long to post, so here is just the saying:

When prayer won't help, worry can't.


Reply 103 - Posted by: cap MarineTet68, 11/21/2004 1:31:07 AM

Yup! Why pray when you can worry?


Reply 104 - Posted by: LComPeepster, 11/21/2004 1:36:41 AM

Formal State Dinner Canceled at APEC

Yahoo! Asia News

 

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/041121/ap/d86gb3io0.html

Sunday November 21, 23:18 PM

Hours after President Bush dove into a fracas to rescue his lead Secret Service agent from a confrontation with Chilean security officials, word surfaced of another security dispute. This time, an elaborate state dinner Sunday night was the casualty.

The dinner planned for Bush and 200 others by Chilean President Ricardo Lagos was reportedly scrapped after Chile was unwilling to accept security measures sought by the U.S. Secret Service, including a demand that all guests pass through metal detectors.

Leading Chilean newspaper El Mercurio reported that the disagreement led Bush and Lagos to instead hold a small "social dinner" with a handful of aides from each side.

On Saturday night, Chilean security barred Bush's bodyguards from accompanying the president into a dinner for Asia-Pacific leaders. As a pushing and shoving match ensued, Bush strode over to the melee, reached into the group and pulled mustachioed agent Nick Trotta out by the lapel and into the dinner.

Trotta has been taking good-natured ribbing for having to be rescued by the man he's charged with protecting.

The melee and Bush's intervention, caught on tape by the official television camera of the Asia-Pacific Economic cooperation summit, was replayed incessantly on American stations. "Bush the Brave," said a Fox News Channel crawler promoting the upcoming footage.

Though clearly pleased at the macho image Saturday night's events painted of their boss, the White House kept its comments understated. "The president is someone who tends to delegate, but every now and then he's a hands on kind of guy," Bush press secretary Scott McClellan said.

As for the dispute over Sunday's dinner, the White House remained mostly mum, merely confirming the event had been downgraded.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan refused to discuss the matter further, referring reporters to the Chilean government.

It's a classic photographers' trick for subjects caught in unnatural situations: "Look casual! Now wave for the cameras!"

Bush good-naturedly complied Sunday as the 21 leaders here for an Asia-Pacific economic summit posed for the annual closing-day group photo in native garb from the host country.

This year, it was colorful hand-woven ponchos traditional to the Andean mountains. As the poncho-clad leaders assembled into a group, most leaders dutifully _ albeit rather hesitantly _ gave the cameras a quick wave.

Bush could be seen chatting and chuckling with other leaders, appearing much more at ease in the poncho than he seemed in the high-necked silk tunics handed out in Bangkok at last year's summit. On the other hand, a stone-faced Russian President Vladimir Putin didn't seem so pleased.

The amiable group photo was held in front of a fountain in the picturesque Courtyard of the Orange Trees, on a beautiful late-spring Santiago day.

But the former mint, now the presidential palace since 1846, has seen decidedly less tranquil days. It was the site of the last stand of Salvador Allende, Chile's first socialist president, who was ousted in a military coup led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

On Sept. 11, 1973, warplanes bombed the presidential palace where Allende had holed up and fired thousands of rounds into the building's three-foot-thick walls. But the building held and the standoff only ended when Allende shot himself with a submachine gun.

No word if any official meetings would take the leaders through that courtyard, where Allende ended his life and his presidency.

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