I almost feel sorry for President Bush. Almost. Having taken an electoral beating last week, he has proceeded to flee the country for Asia this week, where it appears he can take out his frustration by beating some sort of xylophone. (Now, if he could only remember how to play “Chopsticks.�) Bush is currently in Singapore but will also be traveling to Vietnam and Indonesia. Apparently, he is not all that popular in the Republic of Indonesia. He hasn’t even gotten there, and already his visit is sparking protests. Indeed, one fellow took it to a much higher level, as reported here by the Associated Press:

Voodoo practitioner tries to jinx Bush

BOGOR, Indonesia — A renowned black magic practitioner performed a voodoo ritual Thursday to jinx President George W. Bush and his entourage while he was on a brief visit to Indonesia.

Ki Gendeng Pamungkas slit the throat of a goat, a small snake and stabbed a black crow in the chest, stirred their blood with spice and broccoli before he drank the “potion” and smeared some on his face.

“I don’t hate Americans, but I don’t like Bush,” said Pamungkas, who believed the ritual would succeed as, “the devil is with me today.”

He said the jinx would send spirits to possess Secret Service personnel guarding Bush and left [sic] them in a trance, leading them into falsely thinking the President was under attack, thus eventually causing chaos in Bogor Presidential Palace, where the American leader was scheduled to meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday. [full text]

Pamungkas also apparently promised to render Bush inarticulate, make him highly unpopular, and turn him into a lame duck. When reporters informed him that it was a little late for that, the voodoo practitioner hesitated and then inquired whether the President was still in possession of certain key body parts. Later in the day, sources at the White House vehemently denied reports that Mr. Bush had decided to forgo his trip to Indonesia to attend to a “private matter.�