One of my favorite memories is from the first year of President Bush's administration. He went to Europe to meet with European leaders. He had a private meeting with Vladimir Putin, followed by a joint press conference.
The press was, of course, primed with their "Bush is stupid" playbook. The President and President Putin took the platform, whereupon Putin said that he had found the President quite informed and intelligent, and then proceeded to read a letter from Madeline Albright which he considered disrespectful to Russia. The press sat there with their mouths open, stunned that someone would think the President was not a dummy.
It was quite satisfying, and a prelude to how the President would operate over the next few years.
