Bush to partners: 'Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter'
It was his final summit with the Group of 8, the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia as well as the United States. President Bush, the most senior member of the group, was attending his eighth summit, and for years he withstood pressure to take a firmer stand against global warming.
It was the topic on the minds of summit partners and demonstrators.
His final words to the likes of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy: "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter."
That was the report from the British press, citing "senior sources" who said Bush made the private joke as he was about to leave Japan on Wednesday.
It stunned his partners, according to the Telegraph, which said:
He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock.
The Independent offered this analysis: "His remarks were taken as a two-fingered salute from the president from Texas who is wedded to the oil industry." (Two-fingered? Yes, that's the V-for-victory sign, but in Britain it means something else, too, when the palm is turned inward.)
A White House spokesman responded to our inquiry: "I don't have anything on this for you."
— James Gerstenzang
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