I really believe George W. Bush looked into Putin's eyes and saw a kindred spirit. Which is sort of comforting that Mr. KGB has a lot in common with the ultimate Frat Boy. It reveals them for what they really are: immature adults with tremendous power who are incapable of manipulating the powers they command to bring their respective nations down to their level. No matter what schemes they concoct, what misery they can bring about by misusing the forces at their command, neither is the kind of Machiavellian manipulator who can create the sort of "new world order" he wishes to inflict on the rest of us. Oh, they can cause misery on a tremendous scale, desecrate the images of their nations, trample dreams, give hope to evil. But all they leave behind is chaos. And chaos changes. The peoples of the United States and Russia thrive on change, and use chaos to improve. So toast your successes, boys. Congratulate each other on the human suffering you have thrived upon. Your hour is passing, and with it all the horror you love. We've lived through worse than either of you. And we'll see better.

Rove and Cheney ARE Machiavellian manipulators.