Meanwhile, on the Diplomatic Front...

A hero's welcome in Georgia! So trumpeted the BBC, no less, in its television news headlines last night. And showed pictures of the roaring crowds of tens of thousands that greeted your appearance and your speech in Freedom Square, Tbilisi.

It did occur to me, though, Bush, that what must have seemed like a great personal triumph to you must have felt more like a great personal betrayal to your friend, Vlad Putin. After all, he entertained you and Laura to dinner in his home just a couple of days ago. My God, he even let you drive his car! We saw pictures of you, grinning, at the wheel of his prized vintage Volga--a retro gem. And to return the favor, you travel down to Georgia and basically slap him in the face. You praise your new host country as "a beacon on freedom" in the world for fighting off the Russian influence and achieving its liberation in a relatively peaceful way--with the clear implication that Putin's Russia is the oppressor to be shrugged aside.

I wonder how it must have felt to a proud man who had just reached out the hand of friendship, once again, to hear that distinctive crowing tone of your speech and to watch that complacent little wiggle of the hips as you joined in with those Georgian dancers performing in celebration of their liberation from the Russian dominance. I mean, feelings do count for something, Bush. Right?

Not that you're wrong about the basic facts. I'm sure that your moral and material support for Georgian independence earned you that St. George medal (the first of its kind!) that was bestowed on you. Nice timing, too, on the part of your political and PR folk. The whole thing played well on TV, and it must have warmed the cockles of many an American heart to see the old Russian bear brought to its knees in this public way. Good for the ratings.

On the other hand, I can't help but feel uncomfortable with your diplomacy of American triumphalism. Is this any way to treat a friend? Drive his car with a big grin one day, and offer him a very public kick in the teeth--with an equally big grin--the next?