Dinner Roll Diplomacy

Here's some more on the captured comments of President Bush while talking to British Prime Minister Tony Blair thanks to ThinkProgress, which has the CNN video of Bush chatting with Blair about the Israel-Hezbollah-Hamas crisis while munching on a dinner roll (the WaPo also covers it, with a Flash video). SkyNews has the full transcript, and the NYTimes adds in a bit of context:

Leaning over the back of Mr. Bush’s chair, Mr. Blair first brought up trade discussions, as the president chewed thoughtfully on a roll.

Mr. Bush then abruptly changed the subject to the Mideast, complaining about Mr. Annan’s approach to the crisis, and for holding the view — which is shared by many of the leaders here — that Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah should halt the violence and then hash out their differences. The Americans have said that Israel would likely only stand down if Hamas and Hezbollah returned the soldiers they have kidnapped and ceased their shelling of Israeli towns.

“I don’t like the sequence of it,’’ Mr. Bush said. “His attitude is basically ceasefire and everything else happens.”

He went on to say the U.N. should directly enlist the Syrians to intervene. “I feel like telling Kofi to get on the phone with Assad and make something happen,” he said to Mr. Blair, referring to Syria’s president, Bashir Assad.

It also seems that this wasn't the first instance of Bush getting caught by an open microphone:

At another moment, Mr. Bush was clearly itching to return to the White House, saying to someone, “Good job, gotta keep this thing moving — I gotta’ leave at 2:15 — you’ll want me out of town so to free up your security forces.’’ .

“Gotta go home. Got something to do tonight,” Mr. Bush said, then, apparently turning to Mr. Hu, adding, “How about you? When are you going home?”

What was so pressing for Dear Leader? Walking Barney? Chain-sawing excess shrubbery?