Bush and Putin lovefest

Fox News | 11/15/01

[Carolinamom]

The White House press corps could take lessons from these kids who ask better questions! (Note to Helen Thomas: RETIRE.)

[GraniteStateConservative]

He's serious about the teetotalling. He drank 7-Up at the state dinner with Vicente Fox. He is a recovering alcoholic and knows that any bit of it is bad news. He should be encouraged to be strong-willed.

[nutmeg]

We've come a long way from my 4th grade days when we were hustled out into the corridor at least once a week and practiced facing the wall so the flash of a Soviet nuke wouldn't blind us should we be attacked.

I remember this too. I must be just a few years younger than you... I remember taking part in these drills once or twice in kindergarten (we never had any more drills after that). It was a frightening experience, just the thought of the "big, bad Russians" launching a nuclear attack on us... several of my classmates cried during the drills. We have certainly come a long way from those days!

[Aric2000]

Thanks for the Bump Travis, appreciate it!! This is EXCELLENT!!!

[Wright is right!]

"He joked that he had invited Putin to come back in August, the season of dusty and searing heat here. Bush recounted Putin's wiseacre reply: "Fine, and maybe you'd like to go to Siberia in the winter."

You do not get this kind of interaction between leaders who dislike each other. The bonding between W and Putin is a very positive thing - a very STABILIZING thing - which is happening not out of calculation, but simply because W believes in the goodness of everyone he meets until proven otherwise.

If you think W has his plate full, you ought to size up what PUTIN has to deal with. He's got a nation full of corruption, low tax collections, rampant organize crime, a crew of screaming left-wing communist hardliners on one side and several factions to his right. He has a nation of people so very unprepared for capitalism that they literally don't know what to do next. And he has a horrendous lack of capital, despite a wealth of natural resources. That man has a VERY full plate indeed.

To see the two of them together is a glimpse of a portion of the world's makeup of the next 20 years. There is about to be a total realignment of all the world's powers.

I said in another thread a couple of weeks ago that a world map of 20 years hence would be almost unrecognizeable from today's political maps. Amended. I make it FIVE. Changes in Iran. Changes in Iraq. New, for-the-moment stable government in A'stan. Changes in P'stan. Changes in Saudi Arabia. Israel is the wild card. Ringo will meet a fate, and the dynamics will change.

I have the ultimate faith in this administration. Said it 2 years ago. Stand by it today.

Michael

[Giddyupgo]

I wish I recorded it too. Our president was so relaxed, and funny. He and Putin were just a bunch of good ole boys!

[kayak]

If anyone turns up with a picture of W and Putin in blue jeans, please post it. That is one picture I would love to see, I maybe old but I aint dead.

Will one out of two help any? This was on the Putins arrival at Bush's ranch yesterday ..... on their way from the helicopter to the pick-up truck.

This meeting in Crawford is one of the most remarkable events in American history ..... it is incredible! And the appearance at the school today was just wonderful!

[bert]

.........Wright is right.........

you have got it right. Russia has no way to go but up. They have hit the bottom. The corrupt are rich and may not be the problem they have been for the last 10 years.

The value of the W/Vlad friendship being conveyed can not be calculated either in $$$ or world opinion. The value is incalculatable.

[EggsAckley]

He has a nation of people so very unprepared for capitalism that they literally don't know what to do next.

He has a nation of people who have been "dumbed down" for generations. When I was in Moscow in the 80s, every intersection in that huge city that had a stop light had a kiosk with 4 guys in uniforms sitting there deciding when to change the lights. Very productive use of manpower.

[sweetliberty]

"They couldn't possibly spin this event in a negative way, no matter how hard they try."

Wanna bet? I'll just bet the DU will find a way to spin it, and if not, they'll just make it up.

[Howlin]

Oh, look, Bush's jeans are FRAYED.............cool!

[GenXFreedomFighter]

Who's DU?

[Aquamarine]

I'm sittin here grinnin like a hound dog eatin persimmons!

[BigWaveBetty]

Oh Howlin I'm in Heaven after that high school news conf.!!! GWB is definitely THE BEST PRESIDENT EVER!!!!

:-) :-) :-)!!!!

[CathyRyan]

..cough...cough...WOW! That will do. ;)

[nutmeg]

GWB is definitely THE BEST PRESIDENT EVER!!!!

:-) :-) :-)!!!!

Mega-dittoes to that!!!

[kayak]

There are more pictures on these two threads ..... though most are duplicated on the two.

A day in the life of President Bush (photos): 11/14/01

Bush Drives Putin to Texas Ranch in Truck

[Howlin]

Very true. My mother and I really enjoyed it!

[nutmeg]

Yeah, you're right... they CAN spin this session well after the fact (John King is doing it right now on CNN). I just meant if you witnessed this event for yourself - LIVE - then it was turned over to the likes of Woodruff, Jennings, etc., their immediate response had to be positive. Give them a few hours... make that about a half-hour... after the event, I have no doubt that the 'rats can spin this in their usual negative way.