Comments on: Obama – Putin Not in Love!

By: Sarah Deere

Sarah Deere — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:14:44 +0000

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).

By: yg

yg — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:01:48 +0000

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?

By: yg

yg — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:49:07 +0000

wow, good eye.

By: yg

yg — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:48:09 +0000

supposedly, hand on top is supposed to suggest dominance, according to body language theory.

By: elfpix

elfpix — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:42:06 +0000

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.

By: thomas

thomas — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:29:37 +0000

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.

By: Clem Guttata

Clem Guttata — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:18:35 +0000

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?

By: jtfromBC

jtfromBC — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 01:04:31 +0000

A recent poll indicated that Obama enjoys a 22 % favorable rating with Russian citizens, thats double from a Dubya high of 11%.

By: Tena

Tena — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:19:36 +0000

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.”

By: lytom

lytom — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:59:29 +0000

Why do I feel that neither of these guys are on my side?