It’s been a tale of two presidents this week in Rome. One is an international rock star, the other a despised yahoo. One was impeached for lying about a blow-job he got in private (a lie that harmed absolutely no one) and the other was re-elected though he declared war based on lies and willful self-deception (a web of deceit that has so far killed 1,500 Americans and wounded 12,000 more.)

Rome, the Eternal City, has seen them come and seen them go, of course. So we shouldn’t be surprised if even in docile Vatican Square, a certain Roman jaundice yellows the eye:

When President Bush’s face was flashed on the giant TV screen in Vatican Square, the blissed-out prayer chants came to a sudden halt, and the thousands on the ground took a moment to boo our current First Citizen "long and loud," according to Christiane Amanpour on CNN. The President, in fact, needs to be swept from location to location by limousines with blacked-out windows. Bill Clinton, meanwhile, happily walks the streets of Rome and stays until closing in restaurants, greeted at every turn by Romans who, like many of us back home, love the old Scoundrel, Blow-Job Martyr and Telephone Top.

But oh how feverishly the Bushies are trying to spin this story. The Washington Times – that would be the Reverend Moon-owned, Lap Dog to the Administration Washington Times, which journalist Christopher Hitchens nailed, as is his wont, firmly and forever with the nickname "Paper Moon" — reports the story like this:

“President Bush, determined not to upstage the funeral of Pope John Paul II, kept an unusually low profile in Rome yesterday, although former President Bill Clinton gave a television interview watched by millions.

“‘He recognizes the significance of the moment,’ White House spokesman Scott McClellan said of Mr. Bush. ‘And the focus rightly should be on the Holy Father….But President Clinton gave an interview to Brian Williams,’ said Mr. McClellan, referring to the NBC Nightly News anchorman.

" It was the second day in a row that Mr. Clinton made headlines as he accompanied the Bushes on a three-day visit to Rome for the pope’s funeral. On Wednesday, Mr. Clinton angered some conservatives by remarking aboard Air Force One that the pope ‘may have a mixed legacy.’"

Here’s the New York Times‘ version:

"While Romans were unlikely to catch a glimpse of President Bush — he moved only in motorcades and appeared only at a few official events — Mr. Clinton was clearly reveling in the fact that shoppers, tourists having lunch at outdoor cafes and Italian business people walking to meetings, all stopped to greet him.

"‘Isn’t this a great city?’ he said. Along the streets, people started yelling ‘Bill, Bill, Bill,’ and a few shouted ‘U.S.A.!’ One shopkeeper raced out with a photograph of Mr. Clinton on a past visit…

"…by the time Mr. Clinton made it out of the back streets and into the open square, a mob of hundreds developed. Mr. Clinton’s nervous Italian bodyguards put him in a Mercedes and sped him away.

"But Thursday night he was back in his old form. After the dinner with the Italian leader, he went out to a second dinner with President Viktor A. Yuschenko of Ukraine and stayed at an Italian restaurant with him until after midnight."

Party on, dog!