http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,343720,00.html Der Spiegel, a far-leftwing German newspaper, had to acknowledge the difference between Bush's reaction to Putin's anti-democratization of Russia and that of many European leaders, namely German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
"The silence from European leaders, particularly from Schroeder, has been deafening.
To be fair, Schroeder has a defense at the ready. He feels that the best way to ensure that Putin continues (or resumes) his careful approach to the West is to be gentle. There are also a number of German business interests at stake in Russia -- centering primarily on Russia's enormous oil and gas deposits -- that Schroeder is midwifing.
But Bush, for all his diplomatic bumbling prior to and even since the Iraq war (and including his faux pas on Wednesday night when he neglected to take off his gloves when greeting his Slovakian hosts), is not shy about confronting Putin when he sees a problem. Furthermore, he does so publicly, making it much more difficult for Putin to return to business as usual. Indeed, the cheery press conference -- while to be expected -- was all the more interesting for the clear disagreements separating the two leaders and the direct way Bush addressed those differences."
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