Demagogue

During Sunday's "Meet the Press," host Tim Russert had this exchange with the BBC's Katty Kay:

KAY: "... The success of the elections in Iraq, frankly, chastened many of the war critics in France. They now feel that this extraordinary thing happened in Iraq, and they had not been leading the push to have change in Iraq ... Fundamentally, the way Europeans feel that we should deal with the Middle East is very different from the way America feels we should deal with the Middle East ..."

(moments later)

... whether this warmth in tone ... would translate into real substance, I'm a bit more cautious."

RUSSERT: "Some of the European leaders are saying, 'Well, we'd like to get engaged and do more, train troops, perhaps share in the economic recovery, but the president is so personally popular amongst our people, our options are limited.' Is that an excuse or is that real?

Which European leaders have made remarks like that? Are there European leaders who actually believe Bush is "so personally popular amongst our people"?

I seriously doubt it. Russert's smarter than this. Perhaps he meant to say that the president is "so personally popular amongst his people" -- although even that statement is one hell of a stretch.