Live mike captures Bush's tough talk at G8 summit

President Bush got bit again Monday by the open-microphone bug.

Apparently unaware that his words were being broadcast, Bush offered an unvarnished assessment of Syria's alleged support for Hezbollah's attacks on Israel.

He also criticized United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, teased British Prime Minister Tony Blair about a sweater he recently gave the president, and joked about the long-windedness of some unnamed world leaders.

His comments of nearly four minutes were heard live at the end of the annual Group of Eight (G8) summit of industrialized nations.

Bush "used an expletive to express his view. That's the way plain folks talk and probably will play pretty well in the heartland and beyond," said Roderick Hart, a University of Texas communications and government professor.

"That image of being a plain talker is part of the problem he has internationally, where the issues are far more nuanced," Hart said. "Internationally, he is not seen a man of great nuance and complexity." ...

Wayne Fields, a political scientist at Washington University in St. Louis, said Bush is unlikely to take heat at home for his remarks.

"His informal persona gets a lot of slack," Fields said. "The public has a general sense that these are informal moments and doesn't attach a lot of importance to them. It may be more troubling to the rest of the world, but I doubt it."

•	Live mike captures Bush's tough talk at G8 summit Curses Syria for backing Hezbollah USA Today, Tuesday, July 18, 2006 Byline: David Jackson