For Bush, it's good guys vs bad

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is one of US President George W. Bush's bad guys. PHOTO: AP

As he scans the world, US President George W. Bush keeps a list of good guys and bad guys in his mind, strong opinions about leadership and some advice for his friends about dealing with tough problems.

Start with North Korea's Kim Jong-il -- No. 1 on the bad-guy list, though perhaps not as reviled as the man who used to hold that place, former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

It is clear that Malaysia's prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, is out of favor. On a trip through Asia, Bush condemned Mahathir for saying that Jews rule the world.

Turn to the Middle East and in Bush's view, Yasser Arafat's hand-picked prime minister is hardly worth talking about. Bush, in a conversation with reporters on Air Force One, suggested that the Middle East peace process will have to wait until someone else comes along.

"You've got to be patient in foreign policy sometimes," Bush said.

Then there are the good guys, Bush's allies in the fight against terrorism, those who he says make tough decisions.

Chinese President Hu Jintao has made it into Bush's good books. PHOTO: REUTERS

Bush's just-concluded trip gave him a chance to single out Australia's John Howard, Indonesia's Megawati Sukarnoputri, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines, Singapore's Goh Chok Tong, Thailand's Thaksin Shinawatra, South Korea's Roh Moo-hyun and Japan's Junichiro Koizumi.

China's president, Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), is high on Bush's list because he has emerged as an important player in the US strategy to isolate North Korea and help solve other problems in Asia.

"There's a common bond that's established when you're in the decision-making process and you're not trying to chase popular will, which is fickle and moves around," Bush told reporters traveling with him. "You stay focused on the objectives you set for a country."

Facing a presidential election next November, Bush professes that he is not paying attention to politics now. Nonetheless, his trip began and ended with campaign fund-raisers, first in California and then in Hawaii.

Bush brushes off Democrats' criticism of his handling of postwar Iraq.

In his talks with foreign leaders, Bush said, "Nobody has ever said, `Your foreign policy is being challenged in Democrat primaries, and therefore you're less credible.' I mean, it really hasn't come up."

Bush said he has counseled world leaders to "do what you think is right, stand your ground in the face of public criticism and the people -- when things turn out the way -- for the good, people will judge you correctly."

He says he tries, when meeting with other leaders, to "think about the other person, and how the other person might think, and relate to the other person's problems."

When it comes to ranking leaders, Bush does not try to hide his contempt for North Korea's Kim.

"Failed leadership," Bush says.

The president's aides shot nervous glances at each other as Bush, in an otherwise relaxed conversation, suddenly became animated as he talked about the North Korean leader. Bush banged a conference table with his water bottle to punctuate his comments.

Kim "let his people starve and shrink in size as a result of malnutrition," Bush said, thrusting out his arms and bringing his hands toward each other.

Of course, Bush once said he loathed Kim, so his harsh words are no surprise.

Kim has been rattling world tensions with nuclear threats, and then spurning US proposals to defuse the crisis.