I’d heard President Bush ended a meeting on climate change with a cheery “Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter!” But I hadn’t realized he’d been quite this embarassing about it:

The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change, ended a private meeting with the words: “Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter.”

He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock.

Nice one, Mr. President. Maybe next you can start a food fight at an official dinner—preferably one at some sort of conference combatting world hunger. That would certainly impress people. Especially if you bring one of these spoons.

Meanwhile, the White House public relations staff has adopted the “last minute grade school book report” approach to their job:

Mr Bush also faced criticism at the summit after Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, was described in the White House press pack given to journalists as one of the “most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for government corruption and vice”.

The White House apologised for what it called “sloppy work” and said an official had simply lifted the characterisation from the internet without reading it.