Bush aide's Nepal, Tibet flub

by Frank James

When Stephen Hadley, President Bush's National Security Adviser, repeatedly and erroneously referred to Nepal instead of Tibet on ABC News's "This Week" on Sunday during a discussion of whether President Bush would attend the Olympic opening ceremonies in Beijing, many of us just assumed it was a senior moment.

Many, but not all. Some people apparently thought he could've meant it intentionally, especially since on an earlier Sunday talk show he had gotten it right.

For instance, this is from Daily Kos:


Very curious -- is Hadley just a moron? Or is there some diplomacy reason that someone would tell him to actively switch from "Tibet" to "Nepal" between shows?


Or how about the other option, that Hadley just had a moment of brain fade, especially since George Stephanopoulos, host of this week, had just had a discussion with President Jimmy Carter about Nepal?

It's just another example of how the Bush Administration by its actions has helped to create such an air of distrust among many Americans, that when a top Bush aide makes an obvious gaffe, it takes on an ominous meaning.

What many of us saw was a flub by a man who probably spends a lot more time looking for his car keys than he used to, an experience many of us can relate to.

Almost as jarring as hearing the president's National Security Adviser repeatedly cite the wrong Asian country was that Stephanopoulos didn't step in to correct Hadley which is what he normally does in a situation like that. Was he having a premature senior moment too?