Making Up

The photos of President Bush shaking hands with Chirac have been ridiculed in the tabloids. "Count your fingers" read the caption under a picture in the Boston Herald, showing the two men gripping each other's hand. Makes you wonder whether it is different for people with such high stakes in the international scene, from those of us who get into disputes with our neighbors over fences and trees that need trimming. Much like the question of whether Bush truly believes in "intelligent design". It used to worry me that Ronald Reagan seemed relly to hold to the rapture notion, that true believers would soon be lifted out of their shoes and clothes and taken to heaven in the sky.

I suppose we have long since passed the point at which any national figure can be expected to speak with candor about matters on which there is so much controversy. And likely that is a good thing.

I hope those leaders in Europe lift a few glasses together when the doors have been closed, and become friends.