At the G8 press conference in St Petersburg yesterday, President Bush strayed from the subject at hand to crow a bit about the progress in Iraq and that the country was enjoying democracy. At the next podium, President Putin could not resist the opportunity to say, "We don't need that kind of democracy in Russia" which had the Russian reporters chortling with glee, and President Bush was left visibly scowling.

The BBC broadcast showed Putin showing off his 1972 Zhiguli (?) Russian compact, little white car in his collection "the first car I ever owned" to President Bush, who seemed uninterested; evidently Putin is kind of a car nut, on a prior visit he actually let Pres. Bush take a turn behind the wheel of his prized restored 1956 Volga sedan.

And Putin (as described in another post recently) described a Cheney remark as like someone making an unlucky shot while hunting.

Maybe it's just me, but I think Putin came across as an engaging, witty car enthusiast who really made some attempts to reach out to Mr Bush as a person, but unfortunately, President Bush came across as relatively stiff, wooden and doctrinaire.

I really think there may have been a lost opportunity George Bush to build some bridges with Russia.

Frankly, Putin seems to be the kind of guy you wouldn't mind knocking back a couple of Vodkas with and telling a few stories. He really is a Russian, with the interest of Russia first, but he sounds like a pretty cool guy to me, from what I have seen and heard lately.

__________________
1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)