Hola Amigo

The Majorca (Spain) Daily Bulletin http://www.majorcadailybulletin.es/letters.dba?-1+7+0 carries an amusing letter on Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's efforts to ingratiate himself with Bush:

"Ever since his election, Zapatero has spent much of his time shadowing Bush and attempting to shake his hand. On Wednesday, he was waiting in the shadows, and made his move when Bush was talking to Tony Blair. Bush, who I suspect didn't really know who Zapatero was said "hola amigo" and continued talking to Blair. Meanwhile, Zapatero walked off smiling away like a child with a new pair of shoes. The exchange was so brief Spanish newspapers had a nightmare trying to find a photograph of the "great meeting." To make matters worse a Spanish government spokesperson said that Bush and Zapatero had a "cordial exchange." (They forget to mention it lasted about two seconds.) Even more laughable was the "meeting" Spanish Foreign Secretary Moratinos had with U.S. Secretary of State Rice. He literally rushed over to her in a passageway and then later claimed he had a summit meeting."

Zapatero, of course, is the Socialist who famously backed John Kerry, then ignored Kerry's pleas not to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq.