Menendez, schmenendez

August 1, 2006

Some of the president’s best friends are Cuban-Americans.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), at the White House this spring for a meeting with other senators to discuss immigration with President Bush, was surprised when Bush approached him as the meeting broke up and observed: “Senator Martinez, you’ve been very quiet.”

“That’s Martinez,” Menendez said, pointing to Mel Martinez — Florida’s junior senator and Bush’s former secretary of housing and urban development. “I’m Menendez.”

Bush turned bright red, we’re told.

It was probably an innocent mistake, but the idea that Bush can’t quite tell the difference between two Cuban-American senators, one of whom used to be in his cabinet, is kind of amusing.

Bush turned bright red … as if he did have some sense of shame. How did he mimic that?

  • That is probably why he uses nicknames for everyone. He cannot remember who is who. If he had nicknames for these guys he could avoid the embarassing problem of calling someone the wrong name. For instance; Mel Martinez could be Smelly Mel and Robert Menendez could be BM or Poopy-Bob. I mean anyone could mix up Martinez and Melendez but even W could not mix up Smelly Mel and Poopy-Bob.

    “Yo, Poopy-Bob, you’ve been very quiet!”

    Just a tip.

  • Bush turned bright red because someone had “the cruel audacity” to correct him—and right in the White House, no less….

  • Reminiscent of Reagan’s gaffe in greeting his own HUD Secretary as “Mr. Mayor.” This one didn’t get nearly as much coverage, though, since it happened months ago and this was the first I’d heard of it.

  • Right, this is very similar to Reagan misidentifying Samuel Pierce, his own HUD secretary as “Mr. Mayor.” But this is even more embarassing, since Mel and Dubya are supposed to be so close.

  • At least Menendez was polite and didn’t add the obvious rejoinder after pointing out the president’s mistake, i.e.

    “That’s Martinez. I’m Menendez, you ignorant hick”

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