July 8, 2009
Obama – Putin Not in Love!
Apparently prompted by the eager Condi Rice (see paragraph 22), Dubya convinced himself before they had even met that Putin would become a best friend for life.
Of course, the quote from the first engagement at the Slovenian Summit in June of ‘01 at the Brdo Castle in Slovenia is famous by now:
“I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue. “I was able to get a sense of his soul. “
It was in that very first meeting Bush decided Putin had to come down to the ranch, leading to an intimate three day visit which included that famous pickup truck ride.
But that was then and this is now. This week, we saw a return to a more unremarkable get-acquainted process marked by the mundane realities of healthy distance; feeling other people other out; and, yes, skepticism for gamesmanship and power-tripping. Perhaps that’s why, as the NYT reported, Obama slipped not once, but twice, in referring to Putin, the enduring heavy in Russia, as (still) the country’s President.
The image above — one of dozens and dozens, I might add, that captures Bush and Putin (only too happy to indulge Bush’s fantasy) in an intimate grip — is the parting photo from that first Slovenia summit. The second image, as Obama engages the hard-nosed Putin, captures Barack at Putin’s dacha outside Moscow doing what Bush never did, which was start by breaking the ice.
(revised 4:20 pm PST)
(image 1: George Herbert/A.P. IMAGE 2: Novo-Ogarevo, July 7, 2009. ALEXEY DRUZHININ/AFP/Getty Images. linked pickup image: Crawford, Texas, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2001. Either AP Photo/Doug Mills or REUTERS/Win McNamee.)
11 Comments Leave a comment
Jeff said:
The central two parties of the second picture are Putin and Obama, but Putin is invisible in the second photo. Obama is leaning in, fully engaged, though his face is hidden. Putin looks more like a staff member than a leader in this photo. This may be a reflection of his new political position in Russia.
In the first photo, Putin is a different man entirely. Maybe it is a cultural thing, but I notice that Putin’s hands sandwich Bush’s hand. Despite Bush’s subsequent jubilance, Putin does not look especially chummy here.
In both photographs, Putin is more reserved than his counterpart, the reactor rather than the actor.
lytom said:
Why do I feel that neither of these guys are on my side?
Tena said:
I always did think that Pooty Poot looked in Commander CooCoo Bananas’ eyes and said to himself: “This man has no brain. I’ve been handed a gift.”
jtfromBC said:
A recent poll indicated that Obama enjoys a 22 % favorable rating with Russian citizens, thats double from a Dubya high of 11%.
Clem Guttata said:
I don’t want to be startin’ something, but do you reckon that unusual bulge in the back of Obama’s suit is a bullet-resistant facing?
thomas said:
I don’t know if they’re so much feeling each other out as they are staking out their territories and stating their initial bargaining postures early in the relationship. It’s understood that Obama, unlike Bush, comes with a near-global mandate for power and will very likely get his full eight years. He comes in much stronger than Bush and Putin is angling for a longer term relationship. Other (particularly elected) leaders around the world may clamber to have a gleeful photo taken with Obama because they can really use the short-term boost of political capital. Putin has no such need, and his bored, weary, detached air is meant as a caricature of such for the cameras. It’s almost as though he’s answered the door to a salesman on his front steps giving a very tiresome pitch to which he is required to listen politely.
What I think is so interesting and scary about Putin is the guy’s range. It’s difficult to imagine Obama playing the uninterested customer with such aplomb even if it were strategically smart. Obama sort of can’t help but be smart and reserved just as Bush couldn’t help being dumb and obvious. Putin and Obama are both immensely talented creatures of power but Putin’s egoistic shamelessness puts him in a whole different category: if it’s going to serve him to stage tiger hunts, kill dissidents, or look slovenly on the world stage, he’s not above it. Unpredictable, instinctive, ruthless.
elfpix said:
Perhaps it would be better if he weren’t leaning in to make a point, but undeniably he’s got Putin’s attention. Still Putin’s body language is stronger if he is, indeed, the mover and shaker.
What I most appreciated about the visit to Russia was Obama’s treating Medvyedev as though he was the one with the power, not Putin. I don’t know what Medvyedev thought of that, but if he has any balls he might just pick them up and run with them.
Truely that would leave Putin in quite a snit, and the face in this photo just might be reflecting that.
yg said:
supposedly, hand on top is supposed to suggest dominance, according to body language theory.
yg said:
wow, good eye.
yg said:
i liked the part in obama’s speech at the russian college* where he stated that democracies had the power to overthrow monopolies and remedy corruption. i’m sure that made putin and other members of the oligarchy twitch. cspan said footage of the event was restricted to one channel with limited viewership. the students in the audience were like putin, wearing expressions that were skeptical, distrustful, frowning. is there something in russian culture that discourages smiling?
*a school of economics first formed with american taxpayer funding! who knew? doesn’t russia have free college?
Sarah Deere said:
I don’t know….it just looks to me like Putin is paying attention. Not with any avidity or particular respect, but not disrespectful, either. He’s just taking Obama’s measure, looking, probably, for weaknesses he can use. (I started to say “capitalize on”, but realized the silliness of that…heh).