It Makes a Difference to the Sheep

G.W. Bush-related rumor of the day. Slate's Jacob Weisberg publishes a Bushism of the Day, defining a "bushism" as "The president's accidental wit and wisdom." Today's entry is as follows:

"I would like to express my deep condolences for the loss of the Senate."—Commenting on Sen. Paul Wellstone's death, Crawford, Texas, Oct. 25, 2002.

The Best of the Web's James Taranto did some digging and found that the quote was from a joint press conference held by Bush and the PRC President Jiang Zemin. The money quote follows:

[PRESIDENT BUSH] Thank you for coming, President Jiang.

PRESIDENT JIANG: Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen. I just learned that one plane crashed. I would like to express my deep condolences for the loss of the Senate.

Now who looks silly?