I sure hope he didn't have a spot of tea with Vladimir Putin

Bush is not having a fun time at the G-8 summit -- he seems to have a touch of the marthambles or something... From Yahoo/Associated Press:

Illness sidelines Bush at G-8 summit
Stricken with a stomach ailment that confined him to his hotel room, President Bush still met Friday with France's new president and prepared for talks in Poland on a new missile defense system.

The president was already dressed when he began feeling ill in the morning, White House counselor Dan Bartlett said. He said doctors are keeping an eye on him but that Bush's illness � whether a stomach virus, a light touch of food poisoning or something else � is "not serious."

He stayed in bed to try to rest and recuperate, missing the morning session of the summit being held here of eight industrialized democracies.

President Bush did manage to have one very important meeting:

The first sign that something was amiss came when Sarkozy appeared alone before reporters after their meeting. Speaking in French, he said only that Bush was in his bedroom and that Bush's spokesmen would have to explain further.

Bartlett said the two leaders discussed a myriad of issues, including Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur, trade and missile defense. It was their first meeting since Sarkozy took office less than a month ago and only their second overall; the first was September in Washington.

Sarkozy said Bush had invited him to come to the United States.

"The president felt that they established a real personal rapport," Bartlett said.

The new French president, seen as friendly to the United States, will likely be a welcome change from the merciless tormenting Bush received from Sarkozy's predecessor, Jacques Chirac.

To be sure, Sarkozy does not fall in lockstep with U.S. policies.

For instance, he, like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the summit host, had pushed for hard greenhouse gas emission reduction targets out of the week's gathering.

Nicolas Sarkozy sounds like a very good friend of the United States. Definitely his own man and leader of a separate and sovereign nation with its own agenda but still, Sarkozy seems to realize what we are up against with Wahabism and Islamofascism and sees that this little corner of darkness needs to be nipped in the bud now.