President Bush’s stomach felt so queasy in Germany Friday that he delayed meeting with world leaders in order to avoid the fate of his father, who once vomited on Japan’s prime minister.
“I guess he didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of his father in Asia,” White House counsel Dan Bartlett told reporters early Friday. “The president is feeling very much under the weather.”
Later in the day, after resting for several hours, Bush felt well enough to resume his schedule of meetings with world leaders. One of those leaders, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, came to Bush’s private room for a meeting that was supposed to be held elsewhere because Bush was still not “100 percent,” Bartlett said.
Bush eventually traveled to Poland, where he said he felt “fine.”
“He doesn’t look it,” New York Times reporter Sheryl Stolberg observed. “He didn’t sound like he meant it, and his cheeks looked ruddier than usual.”
White House officials initially speculated that the president’s discomfort was caused by something he ate in Germany, although they later backed away from that notion, possibly in fear of offending German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“The suspicion is that it was some sort of bug, probably more viral in nature and highly unlikely to be anything related to food or anything he ate,” Bartlett said.
Bush’s condition was being monitored by White House physician Dr. Richard Tubbs, who travels with the president. Officials described the ailment as “not serious.”
“It’s something that may be running through the system,” Bartlett said. “Mrs. Bush, a couple days ago, didn’t feel very well herself; didn’t stop any of her activities.”
In 1992, the president’s father, President George H.W. Bush, vomited on the shoes of the Japanese prime minister.
