Maybe he just didn't want to touch or be touched by anyone without any disinfectant handy.

Shoot, Merkel would be giving the O man a massage!

Seriously though, I have no pity or sympathy for this small, petulant, sorry excuse for a human being.

It'd been nice had one of these leaders bitch slapped him.

That was an odd piece of video. I do wish it could have been presented by someone other than the truly loathsome Rick Sanchez.

Is it possible that this video immediately follows the video where Bush greets everyone at the door, one by one?

In that case he'd just shaken each of their hands a few minutes before, but none of them have seen each other yet.

It's good comedy anyway.

I think he greeted each leader individually when they arrived - the leaders greeting each other were probably seeing each other for the first time at the summit, whereas they all had individually been welcomed by Bush previously.

Not that I don't love the narrative that Bush is being snubbed, but this is pretty stupid and out of context - CNN playing the high school gossip....

What Eric said. At least that's what I assumed when I first saw the clip, before everybody started making such a big deal about it. Then again, it's possible that this is the real deal, and the scene where Chimpy greeted each leader individually was purely manufactured to make it look like they don't hold him in disdain.

I doubt this is being framed correctly.

Bush isn't trying to shake hands, not even looking at the others. I'm inclined to think Eric has it right at least in essence. Bush is the host, I'm thinking there's a logical explanation in protocol.

Not that I wouldn't like to see him offer a hand to Merkle and have her turn to Putin and start discussing his lovely tie.

That'd cheer me up.

As journalism, this non-story is as lazy as it is pointless. They have video that looks sensational so long as no one bothers to lift a finger and ask for explanations.

What are the odds that any foreign leaders would snub another in front of the cameras, yet alone ALL foreign leaders snubbing the same person at once? Pretty close to zero.

There is almost certainly a plausible explanation, such as Bush had already greeted all of the other foreign leaders prior to coming in.

Fluff stories like this are a distraction from the very many and serious criticisms of Bush and his administration.

I think this goes with Bush's fear of germs. That said, I like the contrast between now and when he was freaking out Merkel with his creepy backrub.

they'd all be giving Obama the "terrorist fist-jab"

even if it is following on some individual greetings, they could have at least made some eye contact or nodded acknowledging each other's presence.

it was a total diss. excellent.

The explanation that Bush had already greeted the G20 leaders STILL does not explain why none of the other leaders will engage him, even by eye contact. The normal thing would have been to shake Bush's hand again, or at least chat with him. There is a very real animosity evident between Bush and the others; they do not even make eye contact.

yeah, timing is key here. as we've seen he had met them all personally as they arrived. what went before this moment may shed some light: maybe this was soon after they had all just arrived, and they were assembling for this photo-op, but most of the other leaders hadn't yet had a chance to greet each other. In that case all Bush is probably thinking is 'OK let's get in line for this damn picture, move out of my way, I'm always front and center', while the others are saying hello for the first time.

Bush supporters will claim this is another sign of his success.

what do you suppose the chances would be that none of the world leaders would shake hands with Barack Obama, had he represented the United States at the G20 meeting?

They won't shake Obama's hand... instead they'll be humping his leg. Seriously!

The honorable thing for George was to have resigned...like five months ago.

He owns the meltdown.

The meltdown is global.

Why shake his hand?

He is a war criminal, but as a Buddhist, I find it possible to feel compassion for almost anyone, and I feel bad for him, only because he is really not self-aware enough to know how bad he is!

Have not found it in me yet to feel any compassion for Cheney!

No possible way there was any protocol involved in this display of disgust. Each of these leaders is very camera savvy, including Bush. Who was snubbing whom exactly remains to be seen. Bush has been phoning it in for months.

No matter what, this looks AWFUL for the US.

As a dog owner who observes hilarious multi-dog humpathons on a recurring basis at the local dog park, I'd pay good money to see Sarkozy and Brown latch onto Obama's leg and give him a good working over.

Piehole of the month award...

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said Monday that the United States will "lose a lot of stature throughout the world" if Barack Obama is elected president.

I don't think that the fact that American banks sell subprime everywhere in the world make American popular.
Since October or September the only people that were pro american, business class around the world, have been f..... by the American business class.
And the fact that the FED lower all the time interest rate, and so create a lot of dollar won't help.

Now I'am almost sure that USA will never pay the debt to his creditors (China, Japn, Russia) and I think that every leader knows that since one or two months.

Most countries have an almost immediate change of government after elections where the ruling party is thrown out. Not only is it awkward for Bush the lame-duck who's party has already been served with walking papers to be representing the country the rejected him, but it reminds each of the these other leaders (maybe with the exception of Putin) of their own political morality.

He is dead to them.

If they shake hands with him, they might catch his cooties.

and of course I meant to say "political mortality"

but you all knew that :-)

I suspect eric is right and he had already greeted them. I don't think any politician would be honest enough to dis Bush the way he deserves. Besides he's still got 60 days to bomb the crap out of something they love.

That's Just What I Said

Wow. That says it all. The world has been waiting for 2-3 years for this guy to just Go Away.

The reason they did not shake his hand is because he greeted them all individually as they arrived.

It's about time. Although had the G20 leaders shook W. Bush's hand and whispered to him they were preparing war crimes indictments against him in their respective countries, it would be sweeter.

Posted by: gotoL

The explanation that Bush had already greeted the G20 leaders STILL does not explain why none of the other leaders will engage him, even by eye contact. The normal thing would have been to shake Bush's hand again, or at least chat with him. There is a very real animosity evident between Bush and the others; they do not even make eye contact.

It is not that they don't even make eye contact, they seem to intentionally look AWAY from him. Not all did it, but look at the first several: their heads turn from the guy in front of Bush to the guy behind Bush, without even attempting to engage him.

Well, we know that he greeted everyone personally as they came into the white house. However, we also know that gw [sic] has NO IDEA about protocol, unless he is specifically briefed about it beforehand. Someone forgot to tell him that it is custom for EVERYBODY to shake hands for a photop picture when everyone shows up for the group mugshots. All the other dignitaries knew that, just our 'leader' did not. All of them had met before, wined and dined at a looooong table (very conducive to talking with each other! NOT!) and toasted each other with wine that cost $500/bottle - so, the excuse that he had greeted them before does not work!

The G20 was just giving him the traditional liberator greeting. After all, 6 of the G20 are charter members of Bush's "Coalition of the Wiling."

Well, love him or hate him, the time is coming near to say goodbye to George W. Bush. I would like to extend an invitation to anyone who has something to say to this President to post an open letter to GW at http://goodbye.us . This is a project to essentially create a time capsule of feelings and thoughts about the outgoing administration. So please, check it out and share!

I think Mats got it right. Remember his offering Obama hand-sanitizer? And he didn't OFFER to shake anybody's hand, which lends further credence to the obsessive/compulsive explanation.

But someone with a clue should tell him about those little pocked-sized bottles. His body man could carry one if Geo (as Laura calls him in W) doesn't want to mess the lines of his suit.

Bush did not have his hand sanitizer with him.

The hate here is just childish, as is the lack of any updated info to this "story". CNN ran a story during the Situation Room program that explained this all (viewable on youtube). Bush greeted them all individually the day before and again a few hours before this particular photo op. Much of this was also on c-span as well. This is a deliberately slanted non-issue pushed by those who can't have a good day unless they participate in a good Bush-bashing, legitimate or otherwise.

Craig, good to see the story debunked. I loathe Bush about as much as anyone, and sincerely believe he is the worst President this country has ever had. But as an American, I would feel disrespected if the leaders of other countries refused to shake the hand of whoever we had elected, however misguidedly in Bush's case.

There is no such thing as illegitimate W. Bush bashing.

Quote: "Maybe he just didn't want to touch or be touched by anyone without any disinfectant handy."

I was wondering about that too. There's something about this video that suggests everyone understood beforehand that Bush would not be shaking hands with anyone, and vice versa.

If not his "germ concern" then some other reason that everyone seems to know about. No one even looks uncertain about whether to offer his or her hand, including Bush.

Quote: "The hate here is just childish, "

Like there isn't a good reason to hate this man, at least in his "official capacity."