"Haben Sie auch Schwarze?"

Der Spiegel is reporting that during a meeting with President Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil, our President blurted out the question "Do you have blacks, too?"

Here's a translation courtesy of GWBush.com

Washington - It was Condoleezza Rice, national security advisor, who helped her boss out of the embarassing situation. During a conversation between the two presidents, George W. Bush, 55, (USA) and Cardoso, 71, (Brazil), Bush bewildered his colleague with the question "Do you have blacks, too?"

Rice, 47, noticing how astonished the Brazilian was, saved the day by telling Bush "Mr. President, Brazil probably has more blacks than the USA. Some say it's the Country with the most blacks outside Africa." Later, the Brazilian president Cardoso said: regarding Latin America, Bush was still in his "learning phase".

(see also this article in the Financial Times)