Bush Vows to Behave
January 5, 2007
US President George W. Bush hosted German Chancellor Angela Merkel Thursday for talks and a dinner to work out the kinks in transatlantic relations -- but not any knots in her shoulders.
"No back rubs," Bush joked as he and his guest wrapped up a joint public appearance.
He was making a reference to the awkward scene when he briefly massaged her back at the July 2006 summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations.
Then, a five-second video and a frame-by-frame breakdown that caught fire on the Internet showed Bush walking up behind Merkel and grabbing her shoulders. Startled, she broke off her conversation with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, hunched her shoulders up and threw up her hands in response.
And, of course, there is that famous grimace.
To Merkel's credit as a consummate diplomat, she recovered as she realized she was being groped by the leader of the free world and one of Germany's most important allies. Then she broke into a smile as Bush walked away.