'It's Not Just About Iraq'

"Volunteer firefighter Michael Montag told sheriff's deputies that Powell was waving his arms in the air, yelling, and cussing when he was unable to leave his house. Powell told deputies he needed to take his son to Denver International Airport to catch a flight."

Somewhat more disturbingly, J.K. Perry of the Vail Daily reports: "The U.S. Secret Service is offering no details about the arrest of Steven Howards, who they allege acted strangely around Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday during an economic summit in Beaver Creek.

" 'His behavior and demeanor wasn't quite right,' Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren said on Friday. 'The agents tried to question him, and he was argumentative and combative.' "

Howards is apparently the founder and executive director of the Clean Airport Partnership, a nonprofit group based in Lakewood, Colo. devoted to improving environmental quality and energy efficiency at airports.

So was this guy just giving Cheney a dirty look? Or was it more than that?

Bush Leaves Hungary

Bush's outwardly successful, super-quick visit to Budapest to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian uprising was nevertheless replete with ironies, contradictions, and tension.

Mark Silva writes in the Chicago Tribune: "Ignoring the fact that the U.S. stood by while the Soviet Union crushed the 1956 Hungarian uprising, Bush told his Hungarian audience that 'people across the world . . . take inspiration from your example and draw hope from your success.' "

Sheryl Gay Stolberg writes in the New York Times: "On a day when lawmakers in Washington were engaged in an intense debate over whether to withdraw troops from Iraq, Mr. Bush thanked the Hungarians for 'playing a vital role' in Operation Iraqi Freedom, neglecting to mention that Hungary withdrew its own troops more than a year ago."

Then there was the human-rights related tensions. "Those tensions were evident in Budapest on Thursday as the Hungarian president, Laszlo Solyom, welcomed Mr. Bush to a gilded chamber in the Sandor Palace. In brief remarks, Mr. Solyom said Hungary's commitment to democracy was coupled with a respect for human rights -- a possible reference to Guant?namo."

Michael Abramowitz writes in The Washington Post: "Bush seemed to have put the basic Hungarian sympathy to the test, in large measure because of anger with the U.S. invasion of Iraq and anti-terrorism detention policies that are not seen here to square with American ideals."

In fact, the Hungarians are particularly sensitive to the concept of occupation.

And it didn't necessarily help, Abramowitz writes, "that the Budapest trip was a bit of an afterthought for the White House, which had originally planned for a presidential trip to Ukraine but put it off because of the difficulties there in putting together a government after elections three months ago. The actual anniversary of the Hungarian uprising is in October, and more than 50 international leaders are expected to attend a celebration, Hungarian President L?szl? S?lyom told reporters."