aem > wrote:

>The story goes on to be a bit more balanced. At a recent press
>conference, Bush was asked to comment about food price increases here
>in the U.S. He gave an ignorant response that has been widely
>reported and discussed in India. Basically he tried to blame it on the
>growth of the Indian middle class. This is the context in which this
>Indian talking head made his snide remarks. The whole thing is not
>substantive, it's just a dumb politician's remark evoking dumb
>responses.

On one level it certainly is a dumb remark evoking other
dumb remarks.

On another level the U.S. has a substantive problem with
over-consumption, primarily of energy but perhaps of food
resources as well. The Bush remarks were a lightning rod
for criticism of bad U.S. policy. Some better policy choices
by the U.S. might both improve its image and help out people
around the world as well.

Steve