Is Olmert ‘Bush’s new poodle’?

Man, we can't deal with another Bush poodle...

Thinkprogress:

The Washington Post reports on President Bush’s visit to Israel, commenting that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert may be “auditioning to replace Tony Blair as George W. Bush’s new ‘poodle’“:

Certainly, Olmert, who may be less popular in Israel than Bush is in the United States, appears to be working overtime to lavish encomiums on the lame-duck American president.

In an interview last week with the Jerusalem Post, Olmert said that in all his years in public life, he did not recall “that America was led by someone as friendly since the days of President Ford.”

“He’s also a great guy,” Olmert added of Bush. “I know that people say all kinds of things about him.

Gentlemen, he’s a graduate of Yale and Harvard. People don’t graduate from Harvard and Yale without wisdom and understanding of processes and domestic and international relationships. He’s a very wise man.”

The two then went on to answer questions about Iran and the Middle East, but when the questions were over, Olmert could not resist thanking Bush for “the courage that you inspire in all of us to carry on with our obligations.” […]

Even Bush seemed a bit embarrassed.