<p>I watched the President’s news conference from Crawford yesterday regarding the Lebannon/Israel crisis. Repeatedly througout he refers to Secretary of State Rice as “Condi”. No one else he references typically receives such familiarity or is it just lack of respect on his part or just plain stupidity.</p>
<p>This woman is the principal officer of our nation’s foreign affairs. In the name of Thomas Jefferson, John Foster Dulles, Dean Rusk, Henry Kissinger and all else who have served in this post, how does the man refer to this woman in front of the nation and the world, especially addressing a crisis of this magnitude, as “Condi”.</p>
<p>She is sent to represent our nation in the middle east (where women receive little to no respect as it is) and he stands there giggling and referring to her as “Condi”. How do these other nations, these terrorists, these thugs, these revolutionaries perceive this. “tee hee Condi you’re doing a heck of a job”.</p>
<p>Can you just picture Nixon referring to Henry Kissinger as Hank in a public setting, perhaps addressing the bombing of Cambodia. Never saw Dean Rusk referred to as Dino.</p>
<p>Still, bullwinkle has a point. If the tables were turned, would President C. Rice refer to GWB as Georgie in such a context? (or any other nickname or pet name). I’m sure that he has enormous respect for her and don’t think that using her nickname is a sign of disrespect towards her, but it sure seems disrespectful to the situation, which demands formality and seriousness of tone.</p>
<p>I don’t think our president is as clueless as he makes himself out to be- there must be some sort of reasoning for his informal behavior, especially towards women in these important meetings.
However- even if your secretary ( of State) is your wife, inappropriate informality IMO, can be taken as lack of respect for the position and the one who holds it.</p>
<p>He dresses appropriately for meetings, no bringing in prize chicks, or Ariats with dukey on them, so he is capable of realizing what is appropriate-
so does he want a certain effect? or is it that he just doesn’t care?</p>
<p>I find our president’s lack of formality in public situations disconcerting. He’s trying hard to present a folksy-friendly side, and it just makes him look like a hick. </p>
<p>I look forward to the day when the Secretary of State refers to Bush in public as “dubya”. I hope, in fact, that her mask will slip a bit and she’ll call him “bubba.”</p>
<p>"Again, I want to thank you all for – and, Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job. The FEMA Director is working 24 – (applause) – they’re working 24 hours a day. "</p>
<p>That is just his style!</p>
<p>PS Dmd, did we not have a Bubba in the White House for 8 years?</p>
<p>But it’s a style that leaves something to be desired when presenting information to the public about a war or a natural disaster. He probably never publicly referenced Mayor Guiliani as “Rudy” in the days after 9/11. It wouldn’t have been an appropriate tone, not because it disrespects the mayor but because of the context of the disaster.</p>
<p>To me, the circumstances and situation require a more formal name, its in a way minimizing the severity of what is happening and trying to turn something, say the horrors going on withj israel and Lebanon, and by using nicknames and trying to be all folksy in a crisis makes the crisis less bad</p>
<p>By saying Condi instead of Secretary Rice, she has less power and less stature, like Brownie</p>
<p>In some circumstances, titles, and proper names are a symbol of how serious one takes the situation…by being all cute and fuzzy it diminishes the dire need for serious attention</p>
<p>On the world arena, where appearences is everything, why try and be a good old boy, it shows lack of substance</p>
<p>I don’t think he means any intentional disrespect by it. It’s just another example of his folksy cluelessness – the same sort of cluelessness that led him to give German Chancellor Angela Merkel a public back rub.</p>
<p>that sort of reasoning makes me uncomfortable-
because if someone for example that had grown up with black hired help, then treated blacks in positions of power more informally, than they treated others, it wouldn’t be dismissed as " oh thats just Bubba, he don’t mean no harm"
So to me, in order to show respect to a minority in the room, and by that I mean a woman, not just Secretary Rice, I think you have to be careful not to treat her any different in public than you would others, even if your private ( and I do not mean what is being alluded to in the Enquirer) relationship is different.</p>
<p>Then again as a parent of kids " on the spectrum" and myself having quite a few learning differences, I wonder if some of his personality is organic
He has exhibited similarities with people with ADD and dyslexia before, and while I havent studied him enough to give my lay opinion, I wouldn’t rule it out.
Some of the cluelessness, and impulsiveness, is also characterized by people with ADD, and sometimes his unusual way he uses words, seems similar to dyslexics.
<a href=“http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/bushisms/index.html#fun[/url]”>http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/bushisms/index.html#fun</a></p>
<p>This is much ado about nothing, dreamed up by people so obsessed that they hang on the every word of their nemesis in the hope of finding something to gripe about. This definitely gets filed under “get a life.”</p>
<p>According to the OP and others, Henry Jackson must never be called Scoop, Dwight Eisenhower must never be called Ike, James Carter must not be called Jimmy, William Clinton must not be called Bill, etc.</p>
<p>I guess as this thread touches, to some extent, on the issue of respect, a form of respect would be to actually read the posts of others, especially before you insult them. </p>
<p>(given the content of post #13, above) Don’t see any posts here that say the use of informality or nicknames is NEVER appropriate. It is a matter of propriety and appropriate decorum and having some sense of the same.</p>
<p>Oh Condi Condi beggin’ on my knees
Open up your heart and let me in wontcha please
Got no money but everybody knows
I love you Condi and I’ll never let you go
Sweet and dandy pretty as can be
You be the flower and I’ll be the bumble bee
Oh she loves me oops she loves me not
People say you’re cold but I think you’re hot </p>
<p>Oh, Condi, Condi
Oh, Condi, Condi </p>
<p>Oh Condi, Condi I’m talkin’ to you girl
What’s it gonna hurt come on give me a whirl
Shake your body now let me see you go
One time for me Oh Condi I love you so
Skank for me Condi show me what you got
They say you’re too uptight I say you’re not
Dance around me spinnin’ like a top
Oh Condi Condi Condi don’t ever stop </p>
<p>Oh Condi Condi Can’t you hear me call
I’m standin’ in the street outside your garden wall
Pocketful of money belly full of wine
Condi in my heart and romance on my mind
Listen to me Condi don’t be afraid
I come here tonight to chase your blues away
I’ll never hurt you I’ll treat you right
Oh Condaleeza won’t you come out tonight </p>
<p>Pretty little Condi precious as can be
Bet you never had another lover like me</p>