Obama Plays Shrink to Europe: Dowd

President-elect avoids awkward meetings at summit by staying in Chicago

(NEWSER) - With the leaders of 19 nations converging on Washington and clamoring to meet with the president-elect, the situation has become, as Barack Obama’s advisers tell the New York Times, “awkward.” Russian officials apparently thought President Dmitri Medvedev would be meeting with Obama, who transition advisers are keeping in Chicago as they tread carefully to avoid major snafus. More»

Five don't pass the 5'6'' mark

(NEWSER) - The leaders at this week's G8 summit are all political big shots, but they're pretty diminutive face-to-face—five don't even make it past 5'6''. Russia's Dmitry Medvedev brings up the short end of the stick at 5'2'', and Canada's Stephen Harper is the only one to pass the 6' mark. But luckily for the G8, reports ABC News, the Napoleon complex is just a myth. More»

French, American presidents meet at White House

(NEWSER) - President Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy discussed ways to stabilize the world economy and prevent another global financial crisis today at the White House ahead of the G8 and G20 meetings, Bloomberg reports. While the two countries would seem to be at odds on world finance—many French officials believe that the US dollar should be used less often as an international reserve currency—Sarkozy acknowledged that the dollar has a "key role." More»

Russian president seems to get in subtle dig at Bush

(NEWSER) - Dmitry Medvedev just loooves Barack Obama…and wasn’t too fond of some other person who shall remain nameless. In an interview with George Stephanopolous on Good Morning America , the Russian premier said Obama is “a very comfortable partner. … The most important thing that distinguishes him from many other people—I won’t name anyone by name—he’s a thinker. He thinks when he speaks.” Stephanopolous cracked up. “You had somebody in your mind, I think,” he said. More»

What do Sarkozy, Clinton and the Taliban have in common?

(NEWSER) - The decision to award President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize has clearly made some people unhappy, writes Katie Connolly for Newsweek. Here are six of the most peeved:

1. Nicolas Sarkozy: The French president was also up for the honor but was passed over for someone he’s described as “naïve and inexperienced.”
2. Michelle Obama: If you thought controlling “the one’s” ego was hard before…