HEY George! I've got a little quiz for you....
FIND THE ODD ONE OUT!!!
Wednesday November 8 6:55 AM ET
World Leaders Jump the Gun in Messages to Bush
By Crispian Balmer
PARIS (Reuters) - World leaders who rushed to congratulate George W. Bush for his apparent victory in the U.S. presidential election were forced on Wednesday to issue swift retractions or retreat into diplomatic silence.
Racing to be the first with messages of goodwill, seasoned politicians placed their trust in the big American television networks which declared that Republican challenger Bush had triumphed over Democrat Al Gore in the closest U.S. vote for more than 100 years.
Within minutes of the unofficial television predictions, politicians in Russia, China, Japan, Israel, Germany, Britain, France, the Netherlands, the European Union, Turkey, Indonesia and Australia all issued congratulatory statements.
Among the first off the mark was German President Johannes Rau, whose message to Bush said: ``We know you as a good friend of our country and look forward to the continuation of close friendship of our people during your time in office.''
Minutes later, Rau's spokesman was scrambling to stop the congratulatory telegram hitting news wires.
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