May 29, 2005
BAD TIMEZONE:
U.N. Party Planners Wonder, Will Bush and Friends Attend? (DEAN E. MURPHY, 5/29/05, NY Times)
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has indicated she will not attend. So has former President George H. W. Bush. The controversial nominee for United Nations ambassador, John R. Bolton, has not been heard from, nor has President Bush, who was sent an invitation in February.Getting big-name administration officials to attend events outside Washington is always a long shot because of their busy schedules. But in the case of the 60th anniversary celebration of the founding of the United Nations, which will take place in San Francisco late next month, some organizers are wondering if something beyond scheduling conflicts is at play.
Nancy L. Peterson, president of the United Nations Association of San Francisco, a nonprofit group that has been planning the celebration, said no explanation had been offered by the White House. But she said some members were worried that President Bush's seeming disdain for the world organization might be behind the silence and no-shows
Why not ask John Kerry to attend on behalf of the United States? Posted by Orrin Judd at May 29, 2005 10:31 AM
Think they are starting to get the hint? Whatever happened to their vaunted sense of nuance?
Posted by: ray at May 29, 2005 11:04 AMI hope he doesn't.
Posted by: Genecis at May 29, 2005 11:31 AMWe could send Voinovich and a box of Kleenex.
Posted by: Noel at May 29, 2005 11:32 AMSend Bubba. He's been working too hard, a party is just what he needs.
Posted by: Sandy P. at May 29, 2005 11:49 AMSend Paris Hilton. Give them a strong indication of just how important we really think they are.
Posted by: Governor Breck at May 29, 2005 11:56 AMIf the Democrats want to filibuster our UN nominee, we can just leave the spot vacant for a while, and ignore the UN. In fact, we can cut our funding for it until we have an ambassador to oversee how the money is spent. Let the Dems choose between Bolton and having a UN, or filibuster and shutting down the UN.
Posted by: pj at May 29, 2005 12:10 PMWhy on Earth would anyone in the administration go to what will inevtiably be a George W. Bish hate-fest in the middle of the looniest city in the United States? It's no different than Bush turning down his offer to speak in front of the NAACP convention last year when he knew Julian Bond and the rest of the board were laying in wait for him.
Send Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer. The government can save on hotel room charges that way, they can gave the crowd the self-loathing of the United States it craves without having any political significance, and if the U.N. has to have a Republican there, send Arnold, but make sure he's dressed up in his Terminator outfit before he addresses the gathering of diplomats.
Posted by: John at May 29, 2005 1:01 PMJohn:
The thought of protestors crossed my mind as well. However, the irony would be delicious if protestors disrupted the commemoration of an institution they hold so dear because they hate Bush so much more.
Posted by: Fred Jacobsen (San Fran) at May 29, 2005 2:45 PMWe saw the Interpreter last night. We enjoyed it and recomend it to all adults. Every time they gave an overhead visual of the UN, all I could think about was: "8 blocks along the river. how many condos could we put up there? How much would they be worth?"
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at May 29, 2005 7:50 PMSend Gavin Newsom - cuts down on the travel cost. Or Sister Boom-Boom.
Posted by: jim hamlen at May 30, 2005 4:02 PMWhy not ask John Kerry to attend on behalf of the United States?
This is a perfect idea! And then, when Kerry's there, we can just cancel his passport and...
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Huh?
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You say when people say that, it's just hyperbole? California's not really a foreign country? Well, never mind, then.