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In a remarkable showing of diplomatic grace and geopolitical strategy, President Obama took visiting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Ray's Hell Burger, the Beltway lunch-hour institution located in Arlington, Virginia.
White House Press Corp fixture Mark Knoller offers up his keen analysis (and razor sharp wit).
Okay - I'm calling this the Burger Summit. You heard it here first.
Obama & Medvedev, in shirt sleeves, ate their burgers at a table at Ray's Hell Burger. Two translators sat with them. No eats for them.
To this day I remember Pres. Clinton had dinner in Moscow w/ Boris Yeltsin & we were told the menu included - get this - "moose lips."
Bet Medvedev regards an American burger as a welcome change of pace from "moose lips."
West Wing Report is two seconds away from busting out his Ouija board:
Medvedev says his Ray's Hell Burger was "very tasty" & you can "feel the spirit of America."
Daniel Gross makes the inevitable pun:
wish obama would have taken medvedev to different restaurant. Then he could have looked into the Russian leader's soul food.
Matt Yglesias isn't focusing on the food:
Medvedev still wearing the now-unfashionable wide tie. #hegemony
Did we mention that Medvedev is on Twitter?
Obama, noting that he and Medvedev are both on #Twitter, can throw away the red (hotline) phone.
Ana Marie Cox anticipates the inevitable backlash from right-wingers:
Per pool report: "White House press says lunch was Obama's treat." Cue Palin taxpayer outrage in 3,2,...
Ezra Klein sums up the day with a cleverly placed hashtag:
First Obama retweets Russian prez Medvedev, then he takes him to Ray's Hellburger. #bffs
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