 Shinzo Abe’s grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, left, Senator Prescott Bush, the president’s grandfather, in shorts with club, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, right, in an undated photo Mr. Abe gave to Mr. Bush. |
Posted on 04/29/2007 10:28:44 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Turning Bush-Abe Alliance Into Friendship
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
WASHINGTON, April 26 — When they met in Vietnam last November, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan presented President Bush with a little gift: a photograph of their grandfathers, playing golf on a course outside Washington with President Dwight D. Eisenhower. After lunch and a garden stroll, Mr. Bush said, “I told the prime minister he needs to get over to the United States quickly.”
On Thursday, Mr. Abe took the president up on his offer, arriving in Washington with his wife, Akie, for a two-day stay that is as much about fostering personal ties as diplomatic ones.
Mr. Bush and Mr. Abe have at least one thing in common: each comes from a political dynasty. Mr. Abe’s grandfather was prime minister; his father, foreign minister. Mr. Bush’s grandfather was a senator; his father, the 41st president. But the two leaders are not nearly as close as President Bush was with Mr. Abe’s predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, whose flamboyant personality and love of Elvis Presley’s music captivated Mr. Bush.
So, with an eye toward a Japanese public that expects the new prime minister to get the same treatment as the old, the White House is taking pains to turn alliance into friendship, allowing the leaders plenty of time to talk substance — trade, global warming and nuclear disarmament in North Korea, among other matters — but also time to do a little male bonding.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Shinzo Abe’s grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, left, Senator Prescott Bush, the president’s grandfather, in shorts with club, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, right, in an undated photo Mr. Abe gave to Mr. Bush. |
Ping!
Cool!
Wow. I can almost hear Jack Palance saying “Beleive it... or not”
Pretty cool. It’s nice to see two A-Teams in Office simultaneously.
Pity our next round won’t be so capable...
Is that Abe’s maternal grandfather?
Right. She left out the "maternal" part.
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