Gee!

I am italian and living in italy, and knowing the director and first actor of this picture, I feel disgusted by the picture itself. You can see the totally exaggerated smile (contagious) of the little dictator, he has been craving for such a picture since months, for self legitimation on the international arena, for local use. It is not casual that he seems to be the tallest one of the three. And this is one of those exceptional occasions where even Obama’s smile doesn’t look natural, it’s forced, barely anyone with some good common sense can stand the guy and it shows.
Also notice the asimmetry in Berlusconi’s face, that’s not causal too, his smile is never simmetric and i believe it shows the man inside, a psychologic radiography, so unbalancedly fake and without limits, can’t control itself.
Despite the smile that seems to level the characters, it’s very very different apples the ones in the basket.
Italy has been and is being looted more than ever, and having to see this kind of trash too.. it’s disgusting.

photoshopped, but i liked this gesture honoring his hawaiian roots.
http://jprestonian.blogspot.com/2009/01/breathe-little-easier.html#links

What makes you think that picture is photoshopped? I saw him do that live on TV many times during the parade.

Reminds me of Yalta
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yalta_Conference_(Churchill,_Roosevelt,_Stalin)_(B%26W).jpg

Zors, you said it. My husband is Italian and we are constantly disgusted and ashamed by Berlusconi’s behavior. He’s been *dying* to be in a photo with Obama, and he must have been scrambling to get on the top tier for the photo op. I don’t think Obama’s smile is real; he looks very stiff and uncomfortable. God only knows what Berlusconi said to him, but I bet you he goes back to Italy and crows about his new BFF.

Afterwards he declared:
- he joked a lot with Obama.
- but he’s young and he still has a lot to learn from us elders.
- he’s hot and is great in human relationships.
- he is to be credited the good relationship between U.S.A. and Russia.
Fits perfectly and helps understand the picture.

doesn’t it look like berlusconi pulled obama into his sphere with his right hand?

I am afraid I wrote it unclearly, I will correct here:
Berlusconi said:
Obama is hot (best translation for what he said) and is great in human relationships.
I (Berlusconi) am to be credited for the good relationship between U.S.A. and Russia.
The latter sentence is plain laughable, but it gets less funny since he actually says that.

In contrast to funkalunatic’s take on the Yalta Conference photo op, I find Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin, much more dignified, much more a representation of heads of state at a crucial moment in history. Perhaps yg is correct, that Berlusconi pulled Obama into the picture. But did he have to indulge him in this frat boy display that appears so unpresidential. I imagine Medvedev got a good scolding from Putin! When looking at Obama’s photo op with other heads of state: Merkel, Hu Jintao, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, among others, one sees a much more formal encounter, as it should be, for instance, the very ceremonial exchange with Sarkozy, which ironically one could very much see the latter in this type of funfest with the guys. Almost too formal–one may note that Obama did not exchange the customary bises with Carla Bruni, as Sarkozy did with Michelle.

Wait a minute! Why did you crop out the Chinese guy? To my mind your picture creates a significantly different impression than the uncropped version.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/02/g-20-leaders-goof-around_n_182307.html