We Come In Peace?

Pray that President Obama plays nicely with others this week while he is in Russia. Pray that pride is put aside and this Summit is a successful one that will improve our relationship with post Cold War Russia, not one that further increases our differences. Based on the fact that “just 23 percent of Russians have confidence in President Obama to do the right thing in international affairs” proves that he has a lot of ground to cover.

Maybe it’s because Obama says things like this “I think Putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new." Uhhh… that’s not very nice. Saying that the way you ran your country and now act as Prime Minister is stale and outdated.

I find it amusing, however, that Putin responded by saying "We don't know how to stand so awkwardly with our legs apart. We stand solidly on our own two feet and always look into the future." Now come on boys, can’t we all just get along? I will admit that Obama started it.

Anyway, we are not off to a good start. If a southern woman ran the country she would have made Mr. Putin and President Medvedev a nice casserole dinner and some chocolate chip cookies instead of calling names and throwing insults right off the bat. That would have come after dinner and a tour of St. Basils. At least he brought his wife and two darling kids with him. That was a good move.

The agenda this week? Improving ties with Russian people and discussing arms control, in particular reducing Russian and US nuclear weapons through the renewal of the SMART treaty that expires this year, also known as Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty - YIKES). Another hot topic is talking about socioeconomic improvements by way of affordable housing, increasing jobs for Russian citizens, and making the world a better place. Oh yeah, and don’t forget about the planned speeches by Mr. Obama to let the Russian people get to know him better. Whew. There is no room for anymore name calling. Once again Mr. Obama please stop saying things like "I think that it's important even as we move forward with President Medvedev that Putin understands that the old Cold War approaches to U.S. Russian relations are outdated.” Ok we get it. Stop spreading the “we are superior to you vibe” please! I need a Russian baby! Hopefully the brains of the operation (a.k.a Mrs. Obama) brought some cookies to share.