Nobody Loves You When You're Down And Out

Watch closely. They are not just avoiding a handshake. They are barely even making eye contact.

Gordon Brown just nods curtly at him. Angela Merkel, like most others, looks past him to greet the next leader. Spain's PM just hangs his head and stares at the floor. And was that Berlusconi standing third in line? Et tu, Silvio?

By this standard, Kevin Rudd's recent handshake was a diplomatic coup (or should that be a faux pas?).

Update: The Bush apologist media explained this away by saying Bush was looking for his mark on the floor, so he'd know where to stand. But everybody else seemed capable of finding their spot quite easily, and they were all filing on stage in the right order anyway. I only add this update because it's worth noting how entrenched this madness is, even as this stage.

And yeah, the link in that last para is to HuffPo, who should know better. But they have been leading the charge for Obama, so ... Well, you know. Sigh.