The Minority Leader

The Hand Holding

Here's an Associated Press photo of the two leaders holding hands.

Richard Leiby writes in The Washington Post: "President Bush was following an Arab custom that denotes close friendship when he walked hand in hand with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah after they exchanged greetings in Crawford, Tex., yesterday.

" 'It's a sign of respect and affection -- nothing sexual whatsoever,' Saudi spokesman Nail Jubeir informed us from the scene.

"It turns out that the pair previously held hands at two summits. And yesterday Bush also kissed the Saudi leader on both cheeks."

Other Accommodations

Loven writes for the Associated Press about the accommodations made for the Saudi prince: "Traditionally Bush holds news conferences with visiting foreign leaders, but there will be none during this visit because Abdullah rarely talks with the media. The president got around that by emerging from the building well before Abdullah's arrival and engaging in what was made to appear to be an impromptu exchange with the reporters gathered there."

Here's the text of that exchange, in which Bush wasn't exactly eager to get down to business:

"Q What do you expect to get out of this meeting, sir?

"THE PRESIDENT: Do you like the footpath?

"Q Let's talk about the meeting."

Bob Kur reported on MSNBC: "One thing that stands out about President Bush's meeting with the Saudi crown prince down at the ranch in Texas is how differently it is handled, really, than for most meetings with foreign leaders. For example, TV cameras and reporters were allowed, as you can see, to watch the crown prince's arrival at the Texas ranch and the greeting that he got from the president. You can see that it was notable there for its warmth.