Seven minutes in Cathedral Square, half an hour in the Hermitage, and an especially-miniaturized “Nutcracker,” all in a day’s work for the emperor who already knows all he has to know.
President Bush’s father, when he was in the White House, introduced the world to “speed golf,” involving a breathless race through 18 holes. The younger Bush, on his European trip, practiced a variation: robo-tourism.
But don’t suppose the subtleties of European culture escape him in his high-speed bubble:
Arriving for a caviar dinner at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s country residence, Bush viewed the immaculate grounds and told his host: “Nice of you to mow the grass for us.” At the French president’s palace, he noted that Jacques Chirac is “always saying that the food here is fantastic.”