Bush The Diplomat.

May 17, 2004 -

"I think we, the United States and Russia, share a common understanding of how we should move forward," Rice said in a Russian voice-over in a television interview aired after she completed her series of meetings with top Russian officials, including a closed-door meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
(snip)
Rice met with Putin on Saturday to deliver a personal letter from President George W. Bush with "general affirmation of our desire to work with them [the Russians] on Iraq and on the broader partnership," a senior U.S. diplomat told reporters Sunday.
(snip)
Kremlin and government sources would only reveal the issues discussed with Rice, but offered no further details of the talks.

June 8, 2004:

BUSH: And it is my pleasure to continue to work with you as we make sure our relations are as close as they possibly can be.

PRESIDENT PUTIN: (As translated.) First of all, I would like to thank the U.S. President for having invited me to such a wonderful place. Indeed, we had a very thorough discussion which pertained to virtually the entire spectrum of the U.S.-Russia relationship.

June 10, 2004 headline: "Putin Takes Bush's Side Against Democrats on Iraq":

"I am deeply convinced that President Bush's political adversaries have no moral right to attack him over Iraq because they did exactly the same."

June 19, 2004:

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said yesterday that his government had warned Washington that Saddam Hussein was preparing attacks on US soil and on American interests abroad before the US invasion of Iraq.
(snip)
But a White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the administration is not sure what information Putin was referencing.
(snip)
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who spent days searching through CIA intelligence for proof of Iraq's threat to present to the United Nations last year, said he had never come across such information.
(snip)
Another State Department official said people were "scratching their heads" over Putin's remarks. A US intelligence official in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the CIA and other agencies did not immediately recall what Putin was referring to and expressed doubts that the information was significant.
(snip)
[Tamara Wittes, a scholar at the Brookings Institution] said that the United States has been lenient this year toward some of Putin's more controversial political moves in Russia, and that Putin may be expressing his gratitude. "Bush is facing some very significant questions on this specific issue in the midst of an election campaign, so maybe this is Putin's way of lending him a hand?" she said.

Sorry, Pootie Poot. Not buyin' it.