# Posted 12:25 AM by Ariel David Adesnik  

GEORGE & ANGELA AND VLADIMIR & GERHARD: Jim Hoagland published a good column this morning on the flowering relationship between Merkel and Bush. Whereas Merkel was purposefully cold to Putin during her recent trip to Moscow, she is already on a first name basis with Bush. (The cheeky Vic Matus even suggests that W. has a crush on die Kanzlerin.)

Hoagland points out, of course, that this pattern of events is as much about biography as it is personality. As a KGB agent, Putin made a personal contribution to the police state oppression under which Merkel grew up. And now he seems to want a police state of his own in Russia.

In contrast, Merkel seems to recognize that an imperfect United States is still a great and active force for good in the world. During her visit to the United States, she has made public her opposition to the detainments at Guantanamo, but it has not stopped her from building a strong relationship with Bush.

At the same time, it is important to recognize what limitations public opinon places on Merkel. As a German analyst pointed out on PBS, Merkel has consistently and intentionally shunned the phrase "war on terror", instead referring to a "fight" or a "threat". To put that in perspective, I think it's fair to say that an American politician who refused to describe this as a war would be considered well to the left of Howard Dean.

So what are to make of a situation in which allies with such significant differences of opinion are nonetheless working so hard to rebuild their relationship?

I believe that this is an indication of the degree to which US-German and US-European relations rest on a sense of shared values and shared identity rather than a commitment to specific institutions or specific policies. At the height of trans-Atlantic tensions during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, many well-informed observers spoke of the imminent breakdown of the "postwar international order".

Yet a la Mark Twain, the reports of its death were greatly exaggerated. The United States and Europe understand that they are each other's natural allies because of their shared democratic values. The greater the tension between them with regard to specific issues, the harder they will eventually try to repair their relationships. (1) opinions -- Add your opinion