Today, in Heiligendamm, Germany, with Putin.
Dueling Autocrats
PRESIDENT BUSH: Vladimir and I just had a very constructive dialogue, particularly about missile defense. He expressed his concerns to me. He is concerned that the missile defense system is not an act that a friend would do.
[snip]
PRESIDENT PUTIN: (As translated.) I’d like to confirm what the President of the United States has just said — except for one thing. I have not said that friends do not act in this way.
We Got To Go
We’ll answer one question apiece. Toby. Then we got to go to a meeting.
You Just Heard
Q My question is for both Presidents. In your today’s dialogue what was more, constructive things, or rather differences? What prevailed?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, you just heard, that the desire to work together to allay people’s fears. There’s a lot of people who don’t like it when Russia and the United States argue, and it creates tensions.
Now that’s a funny one – Dubya working to allay fears. It will be a first!
I was thinking the same thing as Ron. The thing Bush likes most is to make people afraid; he wouldn’t know how to allay fears even if he wanted to, which he doesn’t.