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As some of you know, the Communications director of Canadian Prime Minister Chretien called President Bush a "moron" during a private chat with a reporter a week ago. To make a long story short, she resigned yesterday.
Do you think she did the right thing in resigning?
Canada Reports Bush 'Moron' Remark
TORONTO (AP) - A three-word comment attributed to an aide to Prime Minister Jean Chretien dominated Canadian news reports Friday, with newspapers and broadcasts leading with the story of how she reportedly called President Bush a moron.
"What a moron," is the quote attributed to Francoise Ducros, Chretien's communications director, who reportedly was talking to a reporter about Bush in a private conversation this week at the NATO summit in Prague, the Czech capital.
Other reporters who say they overheard the comment wrote about it in newspapers published Thursday, and opposition members in Parliament called for her resignation later in the day.
Chretien, at his closing news conference Friday in Prague, said Ducros offered her resignation because of the furor but that he rejected it. He also said she told him she was unsure if she made the remark but acknowledged she uses the word "moron" frequently.
"She may have used that word against me a few times and I am sure she used it against you many times," Chretien told journalists, adding that "we don't live in as civilized a world as we used to, where private conversations are private."
After the remark was first reported on Thursday, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer told American reporters: "I just dismiss it as something from someone who doesn't speak for the Canadian government."
Chretien said he received no official complaints from U.S. officials at the summit and that the issue caused no damage to Canadian-U.S. relations.
On Thursday, when first asked about the reported comment, Chretien said Bush was "not a moron at all, he's a friend. My personal relations with the president are extremely good."
Do you think she did the right thing in resigning?
Canada Reports Bush 'Moron' Remark
TORONTO (AP) - A three-word comment attributed to an aide to Prime Minister Jean Chretien dominated Canadian news reports Friday, with newspapers and broadcasts leading with the story of how she reportedly called President Bush a moron.
"What a moron," is the quote attributed to Francoise Ducros, Chretien's communications director, who reportedly was talking to a reporter about Bush in a private conversation this week at the NATO summit in Prague, the Czech capital.
Other reporters who say they overheard the comment wrote about it in newspapers published Thursday, and opposition members in Parliament called for her resignation later in the day.
Chretien, at his closing news conference Friday in Prague, said Ducros offered her resignation because of the furor but that he rejected it. He also said she told him she was unsure if she made the remark but acknowledged she uses the word "moron" frequently.
"She may have used that word against me a few times and I am sure she used it against you many times," Chretien told journalists, adding that "we don't live in as civilized a world as we used to, where private conversations are private."
After the remark was first reported on Thursday, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer told American reporters: "I just dismiss it as something from someone who doesn't speak for the Canadian government."
Chretien said he received no official complaints from U.S. officials at the summit and that the issue caused no damage to Canadian-U.S. relations.
On Thursday, when first asked about the reported comment, Chretien said Bush was "not a moron at all, he's a friend. My personal relations with the president are extremely good."
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