WASHINGTON — On his four previous foreign trips, President Obama was greeted by cheering crowds and smiling world leaders, a carefully planned global introduction that emphasized listening, collaboration and cooperation.
But as he prepares to go abroad again today, the White House is resetting its goals. Now the idea is to cast Obama not just as a likable, inspirational figure but also as a tough-minded world leader.
His first stop will be a sure test. Obama is scheduled to sit down with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, ostensibly No. 2 in the Kremlin, but who is widely believed to be the real power behind President Dmitry Medvedev.
Obama will also meet Medvedev, whom Putin handpicked to succeed him in 2008, with nuclear disarmament at the top of the agenda.
He then will give what is being billed as a major speech at the New Economic School, presenting to a broader audience his view of U.S.-Russia relations.
The president also plans to meet with Russian political and business leaders as a way to diversify Washington's relationship with Moscow beyond the traditional political power structure, White House officials say.
"The idea here is that this is not 1974," said Michael McFaul, special assistant to the president and senior director for Russian and Eurasian affairs. "This is not just where we do an arms control agreement with the Soviets, but that we have a multidimensional relationship with the Russian government and with the Russian people."
Though Russia is no longer a Cold War superpower, the U.S. still wants Moscow's help on a broad range of issues, including reining in Iran's nuclear program and in the war in Afghanistan. Administration officials are acutely aware of the peril of appearing weak.
President George W. Bush famously said that he looked into Putin's eyes and saw a man he could work with -- and then presided over a period of worsening U.S.-Russian relations. "Mr. Putin believes that, for now, Russia has the upper hand vis-a-vis the United States, and that Washington needs to make all of the fundamental concessions," said Andrew Kuchins, director of the Russia and Eurasia program for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington.
