Crowd Control — international addition

Throughout every step of Bush’s presidency, his audiences have been carefully scrutinized to make sure he’s only exposed to loyal, sycophantic fans. With this in mind, it’s hardly a surprise the Bush gang would insist on the same policy overseas.

Bush was originally scheduled to hold a town-hall meeting with regular German citizens today in Mainz. But when the German government couldn’t guarantee friendly questions, that became a small, carefully-screened roundtable discussion with young Germans who have visited the U.S. on exchange programs.

And only part of it was even made public.

Somewhat ironically, according to the transcript of the public part, the first question was about free speech — in Russia.

It’s upsetting enough to have a president who won’t address his own constituents if they might disagree with his policies, but the fact that he follows the same example overseas is an embarrassment to the country.

Keep in mind, this wasn’t just another brief stop on Bush’s tour. According to a report in Der Speigel (via Kos), this town hall meeting was supposed to be a key component of Bush’s German trip.

A few weeks ago, the Bush administration had declared that the chat — which could have brought together tradesmen, butchers, bank employees, students and all other types to discuss trans-Atlantic relations — would be the cornerstone of President George W. Bush’s brief trip to Germany […]

The Germans, though, insisted that a free forum should be exactly that. Wolfgang Ischinger, Germany’s Ambassador to the United States, explained to the New York Times last week: “We told them, don’t get upset with us if they ask angry questions.”

The Bush gang won’t get upset; they just won’t show up. There’s a firm “Sycophants Only” policy in place — and there are no exceptions.