US coverage of Bush visit shows 'surprise' at level of Irish protest

Weekend coverage of US President George Bush's visit to Ireland veered from a focus on anti-Bush protests on Saturday to reports…

Weekend coverage of US President George Bush's visit to Ireland veered from a focus on anti-Bush protests on Saturday to reports yesterday highlighting a thaw in relations between the United States and Europe over Iraq, writes Conor O'Clery in New York.

Mr Bush's assertion at the Dromoland press conference that "the bitter differences of the war are over," was prominently reported in most newspapers yesterday, as was the statement by the EU that it would give "full and sustained support" for Iraq's incoming interim government.

The extent of the demonstrations seemed to surprise visiting US correspondents, given Ireland's record of warmly welcoming US presidents. The New York Times said, "Mr Bush's reception was frosty if not downright hostile."

The Dallas Morning News reported that Mr Bush ran into a "buzz saw" of protest. One widely syndicated report said that by forcing a 30-minute delay in Bush's news conference with the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and EU Commission president, Romano Prodi, on Saturday, protesters scored a "symbolic victory over a president who prizes punctuality".

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The controversial RTÉ interview by Carole Coleman with President Bush, who is rarely interrupted in interviews or at press conferences, was also widely referred to in reports.

The Washington Post cited White House spokesman Mr Scott McClellan as saying that an RTÉ interview with First Lady Laura Bush was "cancelled" after the interview.

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, wrote that the President became "agitated" when told most of the Irish saw the world as more dangerous now.