The "moron" comment made by Prime Minister Jean Chretien's communications director is being used as ammunition for Saddam Hussein's propaganda war against George Bush.

An editorial in Hussein's Baath party newspaper said: "Bush has become the most hated person in the world and who is given all sorts of bad names, especially in the West like the Canadian prime minister's spokeswoman ... who said he was a moron."

The Canadian Alliance and the Conservatives say that's even more of a reason to fire Francoise Ducros.

"That makes this more of an international incident," said Jason Kenney, Canadian Alliance foreign affairs critic for the U.S. "This is being used as proof that Western countries in general and Canada in particular hate George Bush."

"Why doesn't this government put Canada first and accept the resignation," said Tory leader Joe Clark.

During a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meeting in Prague last week, Ducros was overheard calling Bush a "moron" to another reporter. According to journalists in the room, she was referring to Bush's intense focus on the issue of Iraq at the meeting of NATO.

After the story broke in Canada and abroad, Ducros offered her resignation. Chretien refused it Friday, saying the comment didn't harm Canada-U.S. relations.

In the letter to the PM, Ducros admitted she was wrong. The government says that should be enough. "The individual in question indicated that if the statement were made, it was one for which she apologized -- I think that should be the end of the matter for now," said Deputy Prime Minister John Manley.

Patrick Basham, a senior fellow at the CATO Institute, said the Bush administration isn't waiting for Chretien to accept Ducros' resignation.

"I think it would be well received but it's not a significant enough issue that Bush or any of his people are going to lose sleep over the fact that they haven't got one or that Chretien has refused her resignation," he told CTV Newsnet.

In the U.S., reaction is mixed. On American talk shows, it's ammunition for right-wing pundits who see the moron remark as a sign of anti-Americanism.

"I think the Canadian government spokesman was very honest. The Canadian government has a lot of contempt for the U.S. government," said Jonah Goldberg on CNN's Crossfire.

Flip the channel though and you'll find others wondering what all the fuss is about.

"Thousands of people in this country call President Bush a moron on a daily basis. Now they do it in Canada and it's a big deal," said The View moderator Meredith Vieira.

Basham believes the comment wasn't a good thing. In the end, he said it won't have a huge impact because Canada doesn't play a large diplomatic role in the world.

"It's a negative, it's a bad thing. It shouldn't have happened and it doesn't help warm the White House to the Chretien government," Basham told CTV Newsnet. "But Canada doesn't exactly punch its weight diplomatically. It's not a big deal on the radar screen here."

U.S. officials have made light of the remark, which has only underscored an already strained relationship. Chretien and Bush don't have the close relationship that previous Canadian and U.S. leaders have shared, and the issues of terrorism, borders and trade dispute have also increased tension.

At the end of October, U.S. TV host Pat Buchanan called Canada a "Soviet Canuckistan" for criticizing a U.S. law demanding photos and fingerprints from Canadians of Middle Eastern heritage who planned to cross the border.

With reports from CTV's Roger Smith and The Canadian Press