Hu Go, Prez!

1. Summit of the Americas, 2002. Slinking by.

2. Summit of the Americas, 2005. Having to move  to avoid boogie man in group photo.

3. Summit of the Americas, 2009. It’s not socialism, it’s called sociability. (And the explanation for the big grin, beyond the announcement/recognition that America’s “chip on the shoulder” has been retired to Texas, is that no character out there is too prickly to handle.)

(image 1: still looking. image 2: J. Scott Applewhite/A.P. Nov. 4, 2005. Mar del Plata, Argentina. image 3: Via Getty Images. caption: Handout picture released by the Venezuelan Presidency press office showing the President of the US,Barack Obama (L), and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez (R) chating before the opening of the 5th Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, on April 17, 2009. Despite efforts by Obama and summit organizers to keep the three-day gathering on the topics of energy, the environment and public safety, Cuba has emerged as the headline issue for being the only nation excluded)