An International Incident: President Bush Winks at the Queen of England

Can an American President wink at the Queen of England without sparking an international incident? Yesterday, President Bush stumbled over part of his welcome speech to the Queen of England and then shot her a sly sidewise look like a Texas cowboy, complete with a wink that has been well covered by the media. Several news agencies are reporting the gaffe the President made with the Queen of England yesterday.

The New York Times described President Bush's faux paux in paragraph 11 of an article entitled Bush and the Queen Celebrate Common Values.

Mr. Bush set a relaxed tone to the White House gathering, albeit unintentionally. "You helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17 - in 1976," he said as laughter broke out. A moment later, Mr. Bush said the queen had flashed him a look "that only a mother could give a child." That line brought more laughter.

The British Paper The Daily Mail, was less kind however, and seemed to take the President's faux paux to heart, with the headline Blundering Bush makes ANOTHER gaffe as he winks at the Queen.

That's what happened yesterday after George Bush mangled his greeting to the Queen on her state visit to the U.S.

Stumbling over his words, he came perilously close to suggesting that the monarch had toured the States in 1776.

And although the President's following wink was initially rewarded with a regal glare, the Queen did at least seem to see the funny side of the blunder.

After the blunder the President paused and turned to the Queen to acknowledge his gaffe, joking that she "gave me a look that only a mother could give a child."

Ripples of laughter echoed around those gathered at the event and the President laughed off the mistake and continued his speech.

The Daily Mail has also published photographs of the winking incident. One clearly captures what can only be described as a frosty glare from the matriarch. The British newspaper even appears to be holding a grudge against George W. Bush. The Brits certainly seem to have what can at least be described as a good memory for what they perceive as President Bush's lack of the finer social skills.

The Daily Mail dredges up what appears to be one of the President's gaffes from the past:

He hasn't been so successful in the past, however. He once admitted to the Queen he was the black sheep of his family and then turned to her and asked "Who's yours?"

The encounter came at the White House in 1991 when his father was in power. The Queen, wisely, did not reply.

Barbara Bush stepped in and warned the monarch: "Don't answer that."

Sources:

Bush and Queen Celebrate Common Values, New York Times, May 8, 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/07/
washington/07cnd-queen.html?_r=1&oref=slogin (President George Bush, Queen of England, wink, gaffe, faux paux)

Blundering Bush makes ANOTHER gaffe as he winks at the Queen, The Daily Mail, May 8, 2007, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/
articles/news/worldnews.html?in_
article_id=453199&in_page_id=1811 (President George Bush, Queen of England, wink, gaffe, faux paux)

Capital Goes Gaga Over the Queen for a Day, Washington Post, May 8, 2007, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/
2007/05/07/AR2007050700086.html?hpid=topnews (President George Bush, Queen of England, wink, gaffe, faux paux)

WashPost Royally Ribs Bush for Gaffe, Newsbusers.org, http://newsbusters.org/node/12591 (President George Bush, Queen of England, wink, gaffe, faux paux)