On The Plane | washingtonpost.com

Posted at 5:44 AM ET, 05/16/2008

Hobnobbing in the Holy Land

Jerusalem -- Just before President Bush left for Israel this week, the White House named an "honorary delegation" of some 80 prominent American Jews, big-time GOP donors and others to accompany him to the celebration of the Jewish state's 60th anniversary.

It turns out you don't get too much for being in that group -- no ride on Air Force One for example. That's not a problem for some in the delegation: Former New York Times columnist William Safire told me he was able to hitch a ride on publisher Mort Zuckerman's jet along with Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who is not an honorary delegate but was coming for "big ideas" conference being sponsored here by Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Thursday night, Bush delivered on perhaps the one perk available to the delegates, an invitation to an elaborate reception in the sculpture garden of the Israeli Museum. The museum is home to the famous Dead Sea Scrolls and the rare Isaiah Scroll, which has been brought out especially for the 60th anniversary and is not yet on public display, according to the pool report by my New York Times colleague Sheryl Stolberg.

--Michael Abramowitz

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Posted at 3:42 PM ET, 04/ 5/2008

A Future in Croatian Politics for Johndroe?

ZAGREB, Croatia -- Gordon Johndroe has been a fixture in Bushworld for a decade -- he worked on the 1998 governor's race in Texas and the 2000 presidential race, served as an assistant White House press secretary, Department of Homeland Security press secretary, the first lady's press secretary and strategic communications director for the State Department and now works as the chief spokesman for the National Security Council.

But with the days of the Bush administration dwindling, it looks as if he may have a future in Croatian politics. Johndroe ran into the foreign minister of this tiny Adriatic nation today during President Bush's visit here to celebrate NATO expansion. The foreign minister handed the NSC spokesman his card: Gordan Jandrokovic.

"Do you have any Croatian blood in you?" Gordan Jandrokovic asked Gordon Johndroe.

Not that he knows of. But that shouldn't stop his new political career.

-- Peter Baker

Posted at 6:04 AM ET, 04/ 4/2008

Live, From Bucharest, It's ZAMFIR!!

BUCHAREST, Romania -- Days in the White House filing center on the road can be tedious, mind-numbing and extremely long. Journalists find themselves sitting inside a windowless conference room without ever seeing daylight.

But on the other hand, you never know who might show up. During President Bush's journey through Africa in February, it was rocker-turned-activist Bob Geldof, who hitched a ride on Air Force One to talk with Bush, and Jordin Sparks of "American Idol," who was promoting malaria programs. Here in Romania, who would be more appropriate than Zamfir, the master of the pan flute and a ubiquitous television commercial presence for anyone growing up in the 1970s?

Gheorghe Zamfir, his full name, and his band just wrapped up an impromptu performance in the televsion transmission room here at the Intercontinental Hotel. It seems that the folks at NBC News thought it would be neat to see the famed pan flutist, a phone call was made, one thing led to another and voila, there he was. Zamfir, for those too young to remember, recorded 90 gold and platinum albums and CDs and sold more than 120 million of them in his heyday, popularizing an ancient Romanian instrument made of bamboo, reeds or wood. His music provided much of the score of "The Karate Kid" in 1984 and could even be heard in "Kill Bill" in 2003.

People around here are experiencing flashbacks to their "Brady Bunch" days. Who could be next? Nadia Comaneci?

-- Peter Baker

Posted at 4:53 PM ET, 04/ 3/2008

All Cleared for Takeoff

BUCHAREST, Romania -- So why did President Bush abruptly bolt from the last NATO discussion of the day? Maybe he was annoyed to learn the latest news: The White House press charter has been cleared to follow him to his next stop after all.

United Airlines grounded all of its Boeing 777 jumbo jets yesterday because it had not conducted needed inspections of their fire suppression systems. That grounding included the chartered plane ferrying most of the White House press corps as well as a number of White House staff and Secret Service officers on Bush's European trip.

United reported today that it has now taken care of the problem and the charter will take off tomorrow along with Air Force One en route to Bush's next stop in Zagreb, Croatia. "All of our aircraft but one are back in service, including the plane in Bucharest," United Airlines spokesperson Jeff Kovick said in a statement.

-- Peter Baker

Posted at 2:48 PM ET, 04/ 3/2008

'He's Got a Few Other Things to Do'

BUCHAREST, Romania -- So he's a busy guy. That's what President Bush's top advisers said when asked why he suddenly bolted from the last NATO summit meeting this evening.

Our colleague, Terry Hunt of the Associated Press, pigeonholed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and national security adviser Stephen Hadley after a briefing in the White House filing center here to ask about the president's departure before the end of a discussion on Afghanistan.

"The president stayed there all day long. He listened to everybody," Rice explained. "It is rare -- if you actually counted the number of heads of states that were up and down and gone most of the time, it's a lot. So, the president had been there all day. He now has to get ready to go . . . "

Hadley interjected: "And he didn't go in and out like of other people."

"And he didn't go in and out like a lot of people," Rice repeated. "He sat there and listened to everybody."

"You know," Hadley added, "he's got a few other things to do."

"He's got a -- yeah," Rice agreed. "And then tonight. So, it wasn't abrupt. And Bob Gates stayed to represent us."

After Bush went back to his hotel, he stayed there for 2-1/2 hours before emerging to head over to the official evening "cultural event" at the Athenaeum to be followed by a dinner with the other leaders at the nearby Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel.

-- Peter Baker

Posted at 1:12 PM ET, 04/ 3/2008

He's Outta There

BUCHAREST, Romania -- Enough is enough, it seems. With the NATO summit meetings consistently running two hours over schedule most of the day, President Bush abruptly got up and left the last formal session of the day, not bothering to wait for an official summit photograph of all the leaders.

Bush is no fan of windy meetings and evidently had had his fill. He left behind Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to represent him for the rest of the session, which concerned NATO operations in Afghanistan, but his departure was so sudden and unexpected that he left some of his motorcade behind, inculding his press pool, when he got into his car and headed back to his hotel.

"The president sat through the entire first part of the meeting, unlike some of the other world leaders who went and came as they pleased," explained a White House official, who asked not to be named. "The bulk of the discussion he felt had ended at that point. However, Secretary Gates stayed back and represented the U.S. for the duration of the meeting."

Bush was not the first leader to leave while the conversation dragged on. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper were seen leaving before Bush did. "He wanted to get back here in order to pick up Mrs. Bush and get ready for the evening events," the White House official said. The evening events, including a cultural presentation and a dinner among the leaders, were then delayed to give everyone enough time to rest and get ready. The official photograph Bush was supposed to pose for was canceled.

-- Peter Baker

Posted at 10:18 AM ET, 04/ 3/2008

At NATO Meetings, No Tight Schedules

BUCHAREST, Romania -- He's polite enough not to say so publicly, but President Bush is probably pretty annoyed by now. Not just that NATO rejected his bid to push two former Soviet republics closer to membership, but that they're taking so long in doing so.

Bush is famous for his rigorous fidelity to schedules and his disdain for long-winded meetings. He not only starts nearly every event on time, he often starts early and has little patience for those who are tardy. When time is supposed to be up for a meeting, he ends it, even in mid-discussion.

Robert Draper wrote in his recent book, "Dead Certain," that Bush in 2001 even locked the door of the Cabinet Room when then-Secretary of State Colin Powell showed up after the president had started a meeting. At a G-8 summit in Russia in 2006, an open microphone caught him grousing to an aide about his bloviating counterparts. "I'm not going to talk too damn long like the rest of them," he said then. "Some of these guys talk too long."

So the NATO summit here must be testing his patience. The opening dinner last night was scheduled to last 90 minutes, which would have allowed Bush to get back to his hotel by 8:45 p.m., in time for his usual 9 p.m. bedtime. Instead, it dragged on for 3-1/2 hours -- so long that first lady Laura Bush and the other spouses finally just left on their own as the leaders continued debating NATO membership plans for Ukraine and Georgia.

With 26 members, everyone had to have a say--and that can take a while.

This morning's meetings haven't adhered to schedule any more tightly. The summit at one point lagged 2-1/2 hours behind. They're trying to make up for it now by shortening breaks and abridging some of the later sessions. But even now we're waiting for a discussion of Afghanistan to start that was supposed to begin 1-1/2 hours ago.

--Peter Baker

Posted at 5:59 PM ET, 04/ 2/2008

Overseas Travel Keeps Bush Off Stride

BUCHAREST, Romania -- Like Condoleezza Rice, President Bush, of course, is also an exercise demon and likes his routine. Traveling overseas on these country-a-day trips can sometimes throw him off just a bit.

Take his speech this morning to a parallel conference before the NATO summit began tonight. He stumbled over his prepared text several times. The White House stenographers who record his every public remark were left to insert [sic] in the transcript left and right:

"Welcoming them into the MATO [sic] -- into the Membership Action Plan would send a signal to their citizens that if they continue on the path to democracy and reform, they will be welcomed into the institutions of Europe."

"Afghanistan is the most daring and ambition [sic] mission in the history of NATO."

"Our alliance must maintain its resolve and finish the fight in NATO [sic]."

Maybe that's why he seemed so eager to end a mini-news conference he held later in the day with Romanian President Traian Basescu down at the Black Sea resort of Neptun. Bush typically holds what the White House calls "two-and-two" sessions with reporters when he meets with other heads of state -- each side's reporters get two questions total.

After answering the last question, Bush ended the event without waiting for Basescu to respond. "Thank you very much," he said and then walked over to the Romanian to leave together.

"Just a moment," Basescu corrected him.

"Oh, you got -- ?" Bush asked.

"Just a moment," Basescu said again.

"He's not through," Bush said aloud and then walked back to his lectern.

No wonder why Basescu wanted to answer -- the question was about Romanians' frustration over U.S. visa policies. He should be grateful Romania is already a member of MATO [sic].

-- Peter Baker

Posted at 1:50 PM ET, 04/ 2/2008

Safety First, Even for the Press Corps

BUCHAREST, Romania -- It's always something. First the hotels, now the plane.

The White House press charter that ferries journalists, presidential staff and Secret Service agents whenever the president travels has been grounded.

The chartered jumbo jet is one of the 52 Boeing-777 aircraft that United Airlines ordered out of service today until it can inspect them for possible problems with the fire suppression systems in the cargo holds. The jet is currently here in Bucharest, where President Bush is attending a NATO summit that opens tonight.

United is scrambling to find a way to inspect the plane quickly to avoid messing up the president's European trip, possibly by dispatching inspectors here to Bucharest or maybe flying the plane somewhere else for a quick check and sending it right back. Fortunately for everyone, Bush is on the ground here for another couple days before heading to Zagreb, Croatia, on Friday and then Sochi, Russia on Saturday. That should be enough time to get the plane checked out and back ready for service in time for Bush's departure.

Still, maybe we should buy some fire extinguishers just to be sure.

-- Peter Baker

Posted at 9:26 AM ET, 04/ 2/2008

Sweating for Peace

The Fitness magazine spread on Secretary of State Rice.

BUCHAREST, Romania -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has joined President Bush on his trip, flying in on her own jet from Jordan and catching up to the Commander in Chief in Ukraine before coming here for the NATO summit that opens tonight. As our colleague, Glenn Kessler, wrote this week, Rice has been quite the globetrotter these past few months, challenging Henry Kissinger's record for foreign travel.

So with all that frequent flying, how does she keep in such good shape? Fitness magazine has the sweaty scoop with an interview and photo spread showing America's chief diplomat doing tummy crunches and working with weights under the direction of her personal trainer. "How does one of the most controversial figures in the White House today seem to shut it all down, throw on a sports bra and let the pressures of the day slide off her back?" the magazine teased in its introduction.

Hmmm. We're not sure what Kissinger would think. Or for that matter the Saudis or the Pakistanis.

But Rice walked the magazine through her regimen, describing how she gets up at 4:30 a.m. and exercises on the treadmill or elliptical machine watching SportsCenter highlights until 5:30, when she heads into work. She's always asleep by 10 p.m., she said, and she restricts herself to healthy meals during the week but permits herself fried chicken or anything else she wants on the weekends. As a little girl, she reveals, she was "a little chubbette," but now she's a fitness fiend who, like lots of others, wants to be like Mike. "Michael Jordan is probably the most beautiful athlete of all time," she gushed.

This reminds us of the wickedly funny anecdote in Kessler's recent book, "The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy." One of Rice's friends during a party wanted to prove how tight her bottom was, so without her realizing what he was doing, he bounced a quarter off her tush while she was dancing.

Memo to NATO ministers: Don't try this at the receptions here in Bucharest.

-- Peter Baker

In Today's Post: Bush Pressing NATO to Set Membership Path for Ukraine, Georgia

Online: Photo Gallery of Bush's Trip