One man, one vision and a vest

FOR a man who squints so much, George W Bush talks a lot about vision.

Fixing the media at Dromoland Castle in his faltering gaze on Saturday, the tough-talking Texan outlined how he sees things.

"I will set a vision and I will lead and we'll just let the chips fall where they lay," he proclaimed.

But, as is usual at such occasions, the vision of those within contrasted sharply with the perspective of those confined to roaring slogans at lines of stony-faced gardaí several miles away.

Outside the pleasant surroundings of the summit grounds, there was little doubt among the assembled protestors as to what they thought of Mr Bush's particular brand of singular vision.

One colourful placard - entitled George Bush's world vision - featured the US leader bent over with his head disappearing up his own you-know-what.

But a good-humoured President kept up the illusion of fielding probing questions from hand-picked members of the White House press corps.

"Steve, go ahead and yell it out and if I don't like the question" the President chuckled as one corps member waited for a microphone.

But jokes aside, Mr Bush was forceful about his intentions.

"I happen to believe that when you say something that you better mean it," he said as European President Bertie Ahern contemplated the prospect.

Such a belief has never been ascribed to the Drumcondra master of fuddle. Those with the job of closely following what the European President has to say are never quite sure what he means at all.

Saturday's Dromoland photo call provided ample evidence of this, forcing President Bush to squint even more than usual as he struggled to comprehend Bertie's concern for the prisoners in "Guatapama."

Luckily, Mr Bush successfully deciphered the Bertieisms and began to tell how he cared about the image of his country abroad.

"I don't like it when the values of our country are misunderstood because of the actions of a few people overseasI care about the image of our county," he said. But if the President wanted an election image from Ireland to bolster the polls back home he will be disappointed.

Every presidential visit creates an overriding image to be remembered in years to come.

This visit created two: An irked President sighing, closing his eyes and impatiently holding up his hand as if RTÉ's Carole Coleman was an impetuous child; and a tired President in his vest staring blankly out his bedroom window.

Neither will be quite what George Bush had hoped for from his carefully-planned trip to Ireland.