Speaking Softly
It was a familiar role for President Bush as he defended his vice president from another round of criticism. But this time the source was more than a bit unexpected--it was Russian President Vladimir Putin who took aim at Dick Cheney for the veep's recent condemnation of Russia for backpedaling on democracy. Putin called it an "unsuccessful hunting shot," a reference to Cheney's embarrassing accident in which he blasted a companion with a shotgun. Asked about Putin's zinger, Bush said, laughing, "It was pretty clever. Actually, quite humorous--not to dis my friend the vice president."
The long-distance exchange--with Putin in Russia and Bush in Germany--set the tone for Bush's trip abroad, as he met with new German Chancellor Angela Merkel and proceeded to St. Petersburg, Russia, for chats with Putin and other world leaders at a meeting of the Group of Eight industrialized nations. Bush was trying to be more conciliatory and, well, diplomatic, than in the past. For instance, he declined to address Putin's potshot head on but went on to discreetly issue his own milder form of criticism of Putin's autocratic ways. In walking the tightrope between conciliation and criticism, Bush was adopting a more realistic and multilateral view of America's role in the world than he did in his first term.
In St. Petersburg, Bush met with 17 social activists in private and listened to their concerns about backsliding on democratic reform and about social conditions in Russia. But the president's subsequent comments about the Putin regime were mild. "I assured them the United States of America cares about the form of government in Russia," Bush told reporters. "I hope I was encouraging for them." He said he cautioned the activists, though, not to be too impatient because even "the United States took a while to evolve."
Needing allies. White House aides acknowledge that the war in Iraq has made America's commander in chief extremely unpopular in Europe, and that Bush realizes that he is dealing with too many crises to go it alone--even though he is sometimes impatient with the slow pace of diplomacy. As a result, Bush is trying to play an inside game with his foreign counterparts, one leader at a time, in order to solicit support for his international agenda. "The war in Iraq has turned public opinion against the president in many places," a senior White House official told U.S. News during the trip. "But that doesn't mean he can't get other things done."
Anti-Americanism has been on the rise across Europe and elsewhere, according to a recent poll taken in 15 nations by the Pew Global Attitudes Project. Majorities in 10 countries said the Iraq war has made the world a more dangerous place, including 60 percent in Great Britain, where Prime Minister Tony Blair has seen his own popularity plummet as a result of his support for that conflict. The American-led war on terrorism drew majority support in only two countries surveyed--India and Russia, which have their own terrorism problems. Elsewhere, says Pew, "support for the war on terror is either flat or has declined."
At nearly every opportunity last week, Bush said he was eager to work with America's allies on common problems, such as the war on terrorism, Iran's nuclear ambitions, and North Korea's missile tests. Bush is said to realize he has a lot of hard feelings to overcome because of his Lone Ranger image. But he is trying to show a more accommodating side, and tells aides he believes his administration has enough in common with traditional allies such as Great Britain, Germany, and France to overcome popular opposition.
Bush also turned on the charm, often acting as if he were campaigning back home. He rolled up his sleeves and posed for the cameras as he sliced chunks of roasted boar off an open-fired spit at a barbecue hosted by Merkel. "Laura and I are from Texas," he told Merkel and her entourage, "and to invite us to a barbecue is the highest compliment you can pay us." He drew cheers from a crowd when he announced "guten morgen" as he began a speech in Stralsund, part of Merkel's home region. Bush went on to say he respected the chancellor's judgment on global issues, making the point that he feels the same way about many of the world leaders, in another bow to his new goal of making nice.
This story appears in the July 24, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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