Curious White House omission

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Dec 13, 2004

Political columnist Robert Novak can't understand why President Bush didn't have time to meet with Rocco Buttiglione. Good question.

Buttiglione, as CWN will recall, was denied a place on the European Commission because he professed Catholic beliefs. After being thoroughly "Borked," the Italian scholar professed his admiration for the US, where moral principles are still respected.

Now (as Novak points out) the Bush Administration has been fairly openly contemptuous of the European Union, and solicitous of the Catholic voting constituency. It's unsettling that, just a few weeks after the votes were counted, the White House didn't want to arrange a meeting that would have buoyed the spirits of Catholics and off America's allies in Europe. Go figure.