Big power politics gets personal

In fact, at a private meeting of the leaders and their teams in the White House, Reagan interrupted his guest's serious presentation with an ill-humored joke about Communism. Gorbachev turned red, then went on to issues about which Reagan had little knowledge. Afterward, Reagan's secretary of State told him bluntly that the meeting was "a disaster."

But the common interests of the two nations were too strong to be held back by blundering, and, after Reagan's aides perfected the scripted summit, the two displayed a winning synergy ever after - at least publicly.

Experts say just such tectonic forces, unleashed Sept. 11, are at work this time, pushing Putin and Bush inexorably together. On the one hand, the US president needs Russian cooperation for the war on terrorism - a war that is of no small interest to Russia. On the other, Putin, sensing an opportunity, has pushed for US economic assistance and a greater role in NATO, making progress on both fronts during this trip. "The events of Sept. 11 have just given a tremendous new impetus to where this relationship is going," says a senior administration official.

But no amount of Texas charm - or mesquite beef and cornbread - seemed to alter Putin's opposition on a US missile defense. White House officials say that, perhaps in the end, this will be one of those issues in which personal chemistry does play a role, however slight.

Surprisingly, the two men have much in common, say observers. Neither has a long political history, and both are newcomers on the world stage. Close in age and even in appearance, they are disciplined and direct in their communication. Neither is a gifted orator, though Putin is making rapid strides in English, a senior administration official says.

"These two are very modest, structured, disciplined men. I think that makes it easier for them to have that relationship," says Michael McFaul, a Russia expert at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

They also share a dry sense of humor. When the president showed Putin around the Oval Office, he explained the landscape paintings - all scenes of Texas. "Where are the Texas people?" Putin asked with a big smile. "I'm a Texas person," Bush said.

At a question-and-answer session with high school students in Crawford, Putin said he would respond to any query - except about math. Bush quickly added, "fuzzy math."

They seem to be the exact opposite of Clinton-Yeltsin, two gregarious men with big appetites who fought their way from the political hinterlands to the center of power. As that relationship proved, it is possible for a close friendship to have a decisive impact on policy, says Strobe Talbott, deputy secretary of State under Clinton.

"There were a number of points when the personal ties between the two presidents made not just a substantial difference, but a breakthrough," he says. He cites NATO enlargement and military action in the Balkans as two areas where Clinton was able to avoid a diplomatic blow-up because of his relationship with Yeltsin - with whom he met as often as all previous presidents and their Soviet counterparts combined.

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