we asked him if he still believes that vladimir putin is partial the stock in the cold war. at the cold war still shapes some of the views of mr. putin. >> on areas where we have common interests like fighting terrorism, i think that there is great potential for us to do some work. >> he does or does not? >> i don'does or doesn't? >> still have one of his feet in the cold war. >> hyou said this last week. >> i said that his forebears came out of this period. >> a deal on ballistic missiles might be possible. >> my position might be stronger if we have europe and russia involved in part because those are the same partners that we are going to need if we are going to be able to pressure iran to go through the path of peacefully resolving this nuclear issue. >> talk of cooperation on missile defense is just talk at this point but administration officials said that differences have been narrowed. shepard: thank you for that report from moscow. sarah palin has given her first interview since dropping her bombshell. she let us tagalong for a family fishing trip. is she stepping dow

charlie d'agata has more. >> reporter: president obama and vladimir putin shared a handshake and hopes for better relations between the u.s. and russia. at his first high level meeting with putin, the president said he hoped to improve ties through mutual respect and consultation. it comes a day after president obama announced a deal the two countries would slash their nuclear stockpiles by a third by the end of the year. >> we've taken important steps forward to increase nuclear security and to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. this starts with the reduction of our own nuclear arsenals. >> reporter: next stop on the president's overseas tour is the g8 summit in italy, where they'll try to continue the work done at the economic summit in london earlier this year. the host, italian prime minister silvio berlusconi, decided to move the summit from sardinia to the earthquake struck city to boost the economy. thousands of forces have been deployed to provide security for the three-day summit. >> here we have troops coming from navy, air force, and army. >> reporter: after the summit, the

the most important trip will be his discussions with vladimir putin. he is the most important and powerful figure in russia. i see that he has a one hour meeting with putin, then he is leaving to go meet with mr. gorbachev. i would blow off the thing with mr. gorbachev and spent more time with mr. putin. we have to face reality of what is going on in moscow. mr. putin has developed a sense that he can do whatever he wants to do wit. it is also clear that mr. putin has a chip on his shoulder about the size of the rock of gibraltar. mr. putin believes that for now, russia has the upper hand with the united states and that the u.s. needs to make all the fundamental concessions. this combination of feeling all powerful and over confident will not make for a very easy time in moscow. there are three things i would start with and what mr. obama is to convey to putin. there are possibilities of russian preparation for war. this cannot happen. lester's conflict was out mess in georgia. -- last year's conflict was a mess in georgia. the georgian president said

and even the meeting with the prime minister, now prime minister vladimir putin and barack obama went well. i mean there was no contest. >> a lot of people were looking at that, right? that was the crucial meeting. >> i thought it was a crucial meeting and it was very civil. it was very cordial. barack obama made a lot of effort to backtrack his earlier comment that vladimir putin is one foot in the cold war in the past. and another foot in the present. he said that, yes, he's -- >> is that a mistake? >> i thought it was a mistake. i really thought that that comment was a mistake and it was a strange one to be put forward right before the meeting. but nonetheless, i don't think that it affected much and the meeting went and both leaders were very cordial. although i don't think that they are going to, you know, call each other on holidays and weekends. >> jim, what do you think? >> well, i think that the one foot statement wasn't a -- statement but not particularly importan because both parties had decided that they wanted to have a constructive summit, at least from perception if not

as well as vladimir putin, used to be a russian president. when they sat down to gather, did they talk about iraq? iran? north korea? now, instead prime minister vladimir putin had a lecture prepared for president obama. our senior white house correspondent, major garrett, had the details. he sat down for an interview with president obama shortly after. this is fascinating. >> good morning to you, meghan. good afternoon from moscow, where it is almost six in the evening. i had a brief interview off camera with the national security adviser, jim jones, who sat in on the meeting. i asked him what happened. he said " -- that for the first hour all that vladimir putin did was talk. he talked about the cold war. for an hour? he said yes. not a flower, they have to allow for translation -- not a full hour, they have to allow for translation, but basically vladimir putin gave his take on the cold war for an entire hour. all that stuff about the future and contemporary issues, korea, iran, afghanistan, none of that came up in anywhere near the detail

the prime minister vladimir putin. he meets with obama in the morning.ur report from moscow tonight from nbc's jim maceda. >> reporter: over the past decade, vladimir putin's morphed into more roles than a hollywood star. from president boris yeltsin's shy, owe beadant yes, man, to the impeerous leader, the action man, bomber pilot, artist and, lately, the people's prime minister, combatting russia's deep recession and a hand, harassing a supermarket manager for marking up pork prices. "they're very high," says putin. "it will be lower tomorrow" was the quick reply. and this showdown at a cement factory near st. petersburg. when work dried up, they shut the plant. so putin shamed the bosses, even tossing a pen and ordering one of them to sign a promise to rehire every worker. now other towns are hoping for some of putin's special attention, like this area outside moscow, once known for the factory that builds russian buses. recently the plants workers were fired. "nothing will change here unless putin comes," he says. "he can smack them on the head, and

also, when you look at the picture of prime minister vladimir putin, one got the impression that it was mr. obama is hitting the reset button, and putin hitting the pause button. >> he is an excellent leader in his country and he will defend the interests of russia. we expect russian leaders to defend russian interests, just as we strongly defend our own. given that context, there are plenty of areas of cooperation. the was the theme of this visit. it is where we can move forward together. there were significant advances on proliferation, arms control, and afghanistan. >> look at one of the nato expansion. president obama said it would need a referendum and would need a reform before new countries like georgia and ukraine joined nato. was this new policy? >> absolutely not. those are the requirements for nato membership since nato began. we are not seeing anything noble. -- anything new. i take his words at face value. a country has to agree to join nato. it has to be a volunteer, not forced into nato. it has to have a modern military and a military that is, is in of the difference betw

president obama, a few days ago, accused vladimir putin of having a cold war past policy.turned on the charm. >> i am aware of the extraordinary work that you have done, and i know that his previous role as president. >> president obama is looking to reset the relationship between moscow and washington. the american president's terms at the center of moscow were to deliver his big speech here. it included important statements on the controversial issue of the georgia and ukraine joining of nato, which moscow bitterly opposes. >> america will never a pose a security arrangement in another country. for any other country to become a member of nato, for example, the majority of the people must choose to. they must be able to contribute to the mission. let me be clear. nato should be seeking collaboration with russia, not confrontation. >> the audience of students also heard the american president stressed that neither country should seek spheres of influence in the world. >> immemorial has been unveiled in london for the victims of the bomb attacks on a city transport four yea

they disagree it instantly, it is vladimir putin who wins. n is the real ruler because russians like the way that he puts things. they like his toughness and anti-americanism. i think obama was trying to sweet talk the russians a little bit. we like this one, we do not like this one. that is not going to work. tavis: how does he saw that problem? the money he solves the problem recognizing it as a unified leadership. he makes progress by listening to what they both tell him about russia's security concerns and tried to respond creatively. tavis: let me shift now to the book, because we have been talking about iran already. the book is about, connected to iran. give me the top line on the book. >> tavis, in this new and novel, " the increment," i imagine that an iranian nuclear scientist who for complicated reasons, but really because he detests the regime that is running iran, he decides he's going to share information with the cia, dropped a dime on the nuclear program. he does it by communicating with the cia on the internet. you can go to t

they all believe that it's vladimir putin. there's no question in the american government either, but you can't say that because it's not politically correct. so president obama will meet with him for the first time tomorrow, and he's already, i think, managed to tick him off because in an interview that the president did, he described putin as having one foot in the old cold war mentality, and putin obviously didn't like it. we'll see how that meeting goes tomorrow, michelle. >> all right. bill plante in moscow. bill, as always, thank you. >>> this morning on "the early show," live reports in los angeles on plans for michael jackson. discover a smoothie like no other! new activia smoothies. creamy, delicious, and above all, it contains bifidus regularis and is clinically proven to help regulate your digestive system. new activia smoothies. ♪ activiaaa! how about enough water and energy savings... to pay for the dryer? another reason why more americans choose... energy star-rated kenmore appliances than any other brand. some 1

top of the president's agenda today, sitting down with russian prime minister vladimir putin. it was a first meeting between the two which putin said he hopes for the, quote, furtherance of relations between the two countries. later he delivered the commencement address. he said they are not destined to antagonist. president obama touched on another uth-botton topic including north korea and nuclear ambitions. >>> a car burglar in houston led police on a wild high-speed chase. squad cars pursued that white mini van for over an hour with a lot of close calls and near misses. police eventually trapped the man in a parking garage. he tried running away. made a leap off of a 30-foot ledge, in fact. police did finally catch him and arrest him. charges are still pending. the suspect was treated, though, for a broken leg. >>> authorities in ohio are looking for three robbers who botched their exit. the suspects smashed their suv tloo through a store and started grabbing cigarettes but their getaway truck wouldn't budge so they took off on foot. police are using surveillance video and

shepard: vladimir putin is really running the place these days. set one this president obama still has cold war mentality. what should would he be watching for from there. >> in a few hours right here in moscow for the very first time president obama will sit down with prime minister vladimir putin over breakfast. he was asked at the press conference yesterday moscow time who is really in charge here in moscow. the question prompted this guarded answer. >> my understanding is that in the medvedev is the president. vladimir putin is the prime minister and they allocate power in accordance with russia's form of government. >> shepard that is a clinically civics type answer, one that delicately stepped around what is an all too real reality here. putin and medvedev govern together. shepard: major garrett the correspondent live early this morning in moscow the city. hundreds of people were having fun at a birthday party when attackers arrived and started shooting. cops say three men dressed in black opened fire on the crowd and people had to run for t

. >> reporter: vladimir putin

that's very hard to do with vladimir putin. i have been on the receiving end of a couple of putin's monologues. i n'think it's ral question of stility. it's auestion of style. putinikes to develoov 50 mites his views on things that's the way he talks to people. th it's y he tked to obama. >> remin me a ltle bit in fact on the disstaff side, nancy reagan a gorbaev. she used to complain that raisa gorbachev neverwarmed up to he the two memade a connection. >> they had something to work on together and had a sategic relatiship. i think you ll see that develop or at least obama those will develop what he hasdo is moverom the bush period where the invasion ofeorgia showed that ruia had felt it had nothing more to gain and nothg to lose in its relationship with the bushadminiraon. i thi oma tried to give people a sense that there is something to gain working with him, the qution othe missile defense in europ and how that gets resolved. ihi he has given the russians some hope that relations will impre and some reason to try to make the

>>> president barack obama square off today against the most perful politician in russia, of vladimir putin. president barack obama is wrapping up his summit in moscow, hoping to reset relations between russia and u.s. >> president barack obama and his russian counterpart toward the kremlin after two days of negotiations. the leaders have agreed to cut their nuclear arsenals by as much as 30%. that is a major breakthrough. the president told us that progress on the issues of north korea and i ran, will take more time. >> that is not something we will know the results of four several more months. as we continue to do the hard diplomatic work of putting this coalition together to tell iran to make a better choice. >> he had breakfast with vladimir putin, russia's powerful prime minister. >> we may not end up agreeing on everything but i think we can add a tone of mutual respect. >> while the dough into the plaza, the first lady spencer day highlighting community service. [sging] this trip as a family affair. his daughter dressed in a trenchcoat. >> we called her agent 99. she looked like she

started his day with a very important breakfast meeting, meeting with russian prime minister vladimir putin. both acknowledged that the two countries had a rocky relationship. and spoke about the need to move forward. the president also met briefly with former russian leader mikhail gorbachev. his stated goal was to reach a frame work for nuclear weapons reduction. that seems to have gone according to plan. yesterday, he and president dmitri medvedev, said they would each work to cut nuclear weapon stockpiles by was much as 30%. the russians have allowed u.s. forces to use airspace for key routes into afghanistan. right now, the president is delivering the commencement address at the new economic school. he says the two countries must work together to forge a new relationship. and in the post cold war area, the goal is shared progress. later this morning, the president will meet with some russian opposition leaders. they will be discussing the economy and human rights. the white house says the president wants to get the few view of what's going on here in aush sha. not just the official one

and dimitri medvedev and his predecessor vladimir putin has exported russia's military presence to latinrica, our backyard. with medvedev it's a fleet of 1,600 naval officers and conducting exercises late last year off the ven venezuelan coasts and using venezuela and cuba for bases for strategic bombers. russia is now supplying $150 million in military helicopters to bolivia. and $4 billion, repeat, $4 billion in military hardware to venezuela. both bolivia's morales and chavez are tight with russia and with each other. question, what advantage does this mutual nuclear warhead agreement give to the u.s.? >> not much at all, john. i hope we're not going to cut delivery systems. i'm less worried about warheads. let me say this. what you put up there is russians are clearly reacting to what we did in the 1990s. reagan, of course, called it the evil empire and was being patted on the back in red square. we had a tremendous relationship. we moved nato into their front porch and into their backyard. we've tried to cut them out of the oil of the caspian. we put missiles in eastern europe, anti

but most important his first face-to-face encounter with vladimir putin. >> the old cold war u.s. russian relations is outdated. it's time to move forward in a different direction. i think medvedev understands that. i think putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new. >> reporter: still a key question, is putin really in charge, even though medvedev is most visible on the world stage. >> you can have a foot between mr. obama and med ved i have but the tough issues, things we're concerned about russian behavior and high priorities for our interest, got to find a way for mr. obama to convey that to mr. putin. >> reporter: on the table, diffusing tension over a u.s. missile defense shield in europe, pursuing a new nuclear arms reduction treaty, and helping with the war in afghanistan. president obama says russian cooperation in keeping iran's nuclear intentions in check. a positive sign, russia voting with the u.s. for tough sanctions against north korea after its recent nuclear test. mr. obama telling european allies. >> i reaffirmed our commitment to

>>> tonight on "worldfocus" -- >>> president obama confers with russian prime minister vladimir putin. and a speech in moscow lays out a plan how the two countries can coexist in peace. >>> ethnic violence in western china escalates despite efforts by the chinese government to bring it under control. when will it end? >>> we'll report from an impoverished area of johannesburg, where there are new signs of police. here vigilantes hand out justice but the problem is they don't always get it right. ♪ you must understand war is not the way ♪ >> and from israel. you young christians, muslims and jews. drowning out the drums of war. >>> from the world's leading reporters and analysts, here's what's happening from around the world, this is "worldfocus." made possible, in part, by the following funders. >>> good evening. i'm martin savidge. as president obama ended a two-day summit in russia, he and that country's top leaders seem to have got a long way toward changing the tone of their relationship for the better. but despite the agreement to reduce their nuclear arsenals with a new treaty t

meeting with medvedev, but most important, his first face to face encounter with prime minister vladimir putin. >> the old cold war approaches to u.s.-russian relations is outdated, that it's time to move forward in a different direction. i think medvedev understands that. i think putin has one noot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new. >> reporter: still a key question, is putin really in charge? even though medvedev is most visible on the world stage? >> you have the photo opportunities between mr. obama and mr. medvedev, but for some of the really tough issues, for the things that we are more -- that we're deeply concerned about russian behavior and that are very, very high priorities for our interests, got to find a way for mr. obama to convey that to mr. putin. >> on the table, diffusing tension, pursuing a new nuclear arms reduction treaty, and helping with the war in afghanistan. president obama sees russian cooperation in keeping iran's nuclear ambitions in check. but can he get them to agree to possible economic sanctions? a positive sign, russia voting with the u

the president met with vladimir putin and mikhail gorbachev. he is currently meeting with the current russian president. >>> today is the memorial service for michael jackson. it will be held at the staples center in los angeles. nearly 18,000 ticket holders will be attending including some cebrities. >>> we are learning more about the stalking accusations against marion barry. >> sheet dated his accuser for at least a year. >> investigators are looking at how the ex-husband is in vault. >> we now know that marion barry had police stopped the ex- husband from entering the wilson building for an event. >> the individual had been confrontational with mr. barry in the past. >> his accuser -- this was after the incident on tuesday. the note says in part -- as for the events leading up to his arrest, the councilman spent much of july and forth with his accuser. they had planned to go to rehoboth beach. they were returned to d.c. they were talking about a possible reconciliatio >> we believe the charge stems from a personal relationship that has gone

and there's a good reason, of course, because vladimir putin used to be the president of russia, now here and in the united states believe in a mr. putin still pretty much calls the political shots here. so it have been interesting to see that meeting tomorrow because after all, right before president obama came here to moscow, he made a statement that did not go down well here among the russians and that was he said that president putin in contrast -- prime minister putin in contrast to president medvedev has one foot in the past and one foot in the present. that, again, did not go over well. and yet, at his new conference, it was a first question that was asked by an american journalist of the president, let's hear how he answered it? >> tomorrow i'll be having breakfast with prime minister putin. i have not met him before. i'm looking forward to that meeting. my understanding is that president medvedev is the president. prime minister putin is the prime minister. they allocate power in accordance with russia's form of government in the same way that we allocate power in the united

the other is with vladimir putin who the president will see tomorrow. >> all right. john, sorry, i thought you had more coming. who runs russia, john? >> that's exactly the question. >> who runs russia? who do we do business with, john? >> i think most people who view russia today would say vladimir putin remains the guy to see, which is why you have this unusual situation where the president's meeting with the nominal head of state and then he's going to the back channel leading power in the country, vladimir putin, putin is widely seen to be the person that medvedev answers to within russia. but, you know, the obama administration's trying to figure out whether they can find a better interlock ter. there's an old russia and a new russia, and he sees medvedev as new russia. >> let's talk some business in russia, boeing, pepsi, and john deere announcing deals with russia. boeing trading a little bit lower, deere a little bit lower. pepsico is trading higher. what are the investment opportunities for you in russia? let's bring in our panel, fund manager at fire bird m

. >>> obama met with vladimir putin in what aides called a frank session. the talk about improving relations between washington and moscow. president obama said they did not agree with everything, but the established a neutral tone of respect. the first family flies to italy tonight. the government in china is trying to stop the civil unrest between the ethnic weaker -- uighur minorities and han chinese. >>> prosecutors showed a key piece of evidence in the trial of william jefferson to the. they showed a video recorded by the fbi that showed him outside a hotel accepting a suitcase filled with $100,000. he is accused of accepting more than $400,000 in bribes. >>> a proposal that gained a lot of attention becomes what in d.c. >> alberto gonzalez has a new job lined up for the fall. >> temperatures are still in the upper 80's. p >>> you are watching abc7 news at 6:00. >>> a law recognizing sinn-sex marriages performed elsewhere is in effected in the district now. congress has 30 days to review it the bill. the bill became law today. this allows for the same

brian has the latest from washington. >> the first meeting between obama and vladimir putin was far from doubt that some had been expecting. -- far a showdown that people had been expecting. >> this is an excellent opportunity to put relations on a stronger foot. >> many believe that two and is the man running russia. he was recently accused of having a foot stuck in the cold war past. but president obama says that the old school suspicions may be giving way to new world pragmatism. >> i found him to be very smart, and i found him to have a practical bent. >> obama suggested a solution to to appoint. our missile defense system, and russia's own willingness to get tough on iran. >> if the threat of iran's programs is eliminated, the guiding force for missile defense will be eliminated, and that is in our mutual interest. we need a fresh start between our societies. >> the first family got a taste of local culture. history on the russian stage as the president tries to make some of his own. the president and prime minister did not agree on all of the issues but they promised to be better l

meeting for the very first time with the very powerful russian prime minister vladimir putin. as once president of the russian republican republic and put in power the current president medvedev. the president mentioned president medvedev four times. he never once mentioned prime minister putin. i asked him was that your indirect way, mr. president, of answering the question you tried to dodge yesterday who really is in charge? russia? here is the president's answer. >> i think that the president medvedev is my counter part the president of russia. the prime minister who i just met today obviously still has enormous influence. interestingly, nothing putin said contradicted anything that medvedev has yesterday. it was consistent. now that is absolutely fascinating, guys. that's absolutely fascinating for a couple of reasons. first of all, if, in fact, prime minister putin had said something that contradicted what president medvedev said to president obama just yesterday in their very first summit here in moscow that would be sensational news. the fact that it was an open questio

contrast that with the times when vladimir putin came to the u.s.and spent time in crawford, texas with the bushes and the back slapping that went on and the jovial mood that was there. what do you think is the true representation of our relationship with russia right now? >> well, i think what happened, bill, president bush got burned by the idea that he was taken with vladimir putin, had a very warm relationship with him initially and then was disappointed over and over again by russian behavior and president obama is making sure not to get out too far on that limb and look like he's too buddy buddy with this leader, especially at a time when we have not gotten russian cooperation in a full sense on issues like iran and as well as on the issue of the rebelian with respect to georgia. >> indeed. well, we're going to talk more about the developing relationship later this hour, as well here on "power lunch." john harwood, we'll see you later. >>> the city of los angeles preparing for a swarm of michael jackson fans at his memorial tomorrow. reports a

obama met with russian prime minister vladimir putin. yesterday, he medicine with his russian counter part, dimitriy medvedev. >>> we are following anothe deadly shooting in the district. sarah? >> we' check in with sarah simmons coming up after the break. we have a live report from her. start doing things for my heart, but i wasn't ready to give up taste. sometimes, sacrifice is the name of the game. well, i've heard eating whole graioats... can help lower my cholesterol. it's going to be a challenge... sure we want to lower our cholesterol, but let's be real, being healthy is tough. yea. honey nut cheerios cereal... tastes great and can help lower cholesterol. bee happy. bee healthy. try apple cinnamon cheerios. baked in apple with... a daring amount of cinnamon. >>> police think they've crack the serial killer case in south carolina. it appears that this man, patrick burris, is the man who killed five people since late hest month. was shot to death by police yesterday during a burglary attempt in north carolina. police say his gun mat

>> vladimir putin does not really care about how many notes that we have.cares about how many duly use systems we have -- dualy use seat -- dual use systems that we have. they want to chop the systems down to limit our global reach, our ability to use nuclear weapons. brian: they do not have that. they envy us. >> you nailed it. what do we get in return? a deal that they will purchase more meat. trade in u.s. security for hamburger deals? if you think that is a -- trading of u.s. security for hamburger deals? if you think that is a good deal, god bless you. flying across russian airspace to get to afghanistan, this is transparent. vladimir putin wants us to become dependent on a russian supply line, so that he has a free hand to move against georgia, the ukraine, or anywhere else, we will be so dependent that we will not do anything. despite the policy circumstance that you mentioned, this was a total loss for the united states. brian: thank you, sir. see you soon. a judge denying michael jackson's mother's request to handle his estate. what is more shockin

. >> reporter: an aim that can be accomplished only with the assent of prime minister vladimir putin,t of the levers of power here. after a two-hour breakfast with putin, president obama sat down with cbs news. >> i think this is a very smart, very tough, very unsentimental person. >> reporter: despite that less-than-warm personal assessment, the president said they're mostly on the same page on some vital issues. >> and i don't think that the russians want to see iran possessing a nuclear weapon. >> reporter: white house advisors say mr. obama repeatedly brought up the danger of a nuclear iran in private meetings, urging russian leaders to take the threat more seriously. a case he also made regarding north korea which this weekend launched another round of threatening test missile flights. do you worry about the possibility of war with north korea? how close are we? >> i don't think that any war is imminent with north korea. i think they understand that they would be overwhelmed in a serious military conflict with the united states. >> reporter: the centerpiece of this summit is a pr

. >>> president obama is meeting with vladimir putin and delaying and his foreign-policy views. [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] >>> recent laws changing the way banks do business may be backfiring on consumers. why he made to keep an eye on your checking account, but first a church wants answers after in man is recorded analyzing a statue. wait until you see what else he is caught doing with that statute. >> i heard one gun shot and it was coming from this end. >> police believe they now know who terrorized a south carolina community. it hard to breathe. but now that i'm breathing better with advair... i can enjoy the zoo with my grandkids. (announcer) for people with copd including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both, great news. advair helps significantly improve lung function. while nothing can reverse copd, advair is different from most other medications because it contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help you breathe better. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden

with russia, because, as you mentioned, the president had his first face-to-face meeting with vladimir putin, but we also covered iran, a delicate situation going on and playing out right now. >> i think that in a lot of ways prime minister putin is representative of russia. he is very popular here and i think that russia is still on the one hand processing the transition out of the cold war and the disillusion of the soviet union. on the other hand, they recognize an interest in modernizing, diversifying and recognizing that, i think, economic power is going to be the most important currency in the 21st century. i found him to be tough, smart, very unsentimental, i think he is a practical person. and to the extent that there are common interests, like fighting terrorists, nuclear proliferation, where he believes that working with the united states advances russian goals. i think he can be a potential partner. >> reporter: some iran an clerics talked about the government not wanting to be engaged and thumbing its nose at the democrating values. >> the events over the last few weeks have not

of all reason that vladimir putin is the most -- for the simple reason that vladimir putin is the most influential individual in the russian government. more time with mr. putin. i know that doesn't really look good in some ways and it's not so diplomatic but we have to face reality i think as to what the reality is in moscow and how to deal with it. now the core problem mr. obama's going to have in dealing with mr. putin is i think that he has developed a sense that he will do virtually whatever he wants to do with nearly absolute impunity. there's a long list of events that have bolstered this sense over the years. i think it's also clear that mr. putin has a chip on his shoulder about the size of the rocket jibralter about the humiliations that russia has been intellectual flibblingted upon it by the west and finally mr. putin believes that for now russia has the upperhand vis-a-vis the united states and washington needs to make all the fundamental concessions or in other words do all of the resetting. i think this combination of feeling all powerful, aggrieved and overconfident is

but the government of the puppet master vladimir putin, virtually all it wanted. in moscow, this was christmas in july. kevin you are on the independent line from michigan caller:. caller: what the public does not know is they have a missile system. we had only one anti-ballistic missile system. it was dismantled about 25 years ago. why they are doing here is a token gesture. they should be concentrating on anti-ballistic missiles. host: what is the purpose than a token measure? of the cut in the long run to make it look like -- caller: in the long run to make it look like we're doing something. if you are going to spend money on technology, do it for anti- ballistic systems. who exactly are we protecting here? it is the economy. people need jobs. who are we protecting? the rich, corporate fat cats of the world? why are we doing all of this when we do not have a strong economy? people are not working. they do not even care what he is over there for. callerhost: let's hear from a cr from maryland. good morning. caller: at the bible says that -- the bible says that

obama started with the man many claim is in charge of russia, prime minister and former president vladimir putin. >> we are glad you are here. >> i appreciate you taking the time to meet with me. >> it was a polite meeting following a less cordial change a few days ago. mr. obama sucked putin still had a foot in the old cold war way of doing things. putin scoffed at the idea. instead he graciously showed president obama the balcony where they would meet. today the sit-down is a chance to size each other up. >> we may not end up agreeing on everything. >> the message president obama echoed today at a russian university in another major speech abroud. >> this must be more than a fresh start between the kremlin and white house though that is important and i have had excellent discussions with both of your president and prime minister. it must be sustained effort among the american and russian people to identify mutual interests and expand dialogue and cooperation that can pave the way to progress. >> the president touched on several themes throughout the speech calling for reversing the spread of n

president was the true power, was he meeting with the -- the power of russia or was that really vladimir putin who is now prime minister and was the former esident? and president obama totally side-stepped the issue and just said it is his understanding that medvedev and putin work very well together. and he made note that tomorrow will be the first time he's ever met putin. they really haven't had any conversations. and so, you know, you talk to russian experts here and they'll tell you medvedev is the international spokesperson for the government and putin handles all of the domestic issues. whether it's a true pull-the-strings moment, i think people would dispute that. but putin seems to have much i the ay biwhile medvedevs >>ief diplomat. i thanks, uc k. chuck will have more coming up tonight on "nightly news" with bria williams. that's here on news4 at 7:00. >>> good evening. bob ryan, storm center4. what a gorgeous july day with hardly any humidity. nice, blue skies out there. look at how cool it is out in west maryland. high spots up there. 70 degrees. happy to say nothing on doppler. w

obama's family had quite a week, startingje by meeting with dmitri mcdevitt and prime minister vladimir putin, and that it was on to italy for the g-8 summit and a court of l'aquila, which was ravaged by the earthquake. they have just landed in ghana and they will return to washington on sunday. >>> the new general motors is making its debut today with an optimistic outlook. the stripped-down version of the automaker has cut its debt by $120 billion and shed 22,000 employees. gm is also promising to repay $60 billion of federal assistance before the 2015 deadline. the new company will focus on building more of its popular cars and trucks and launching them more quickly than in the past. >>> aig is considering another round of bonuses and they want the government's approval in hopes of preventing a public backlash. $2.4 million in bonuses are attached to 2000 contracts. aig is working with the federal compensation czar who has the power to decide on the bonuses. some members of congress are already sounding off. >> we have to say to aig, no. >> aig received about $180 billion of government bai

this hour, an interview with the president on what he saw in vladimir putin's eyes and his memories of michael jackson. >>> also new glimpses into the lives and the grief of michael jackson's children. we saw his daughter distraught at his memorial service. how are the kids coping though right now? >>> and sarah palin insists she is not a quitter. in a cnn interview, she portrays herself as a victim of political blood sport and keeps struggling to explain why she is stepping down. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the situation room. it's a family vacation unlike any other. president obama accompanied by his wife and daughters in a grueling trip to russia, italy and ghana. our senior white house correspondent ed henry sat down with the president in moscow to discuss his dealings with the russian leader shinn, iran and israel, his thoughts on michael jackson, and traveling with his family. >> thank you, mr. president. obviously, a grueling trip. what is it like though? does it take the edge off with your daughters hear