The Russians appear to be pleased with their new, more accommodating partner in Barack Obama. President Medvedev even went so far as to hail our president as his "new comrade."

Why shouldn't the Russkies be happy with one so generous in his concessions?

Russia's Dmitry Medvedev hailed Barack Obama as "my new comrade" Thursday after their first face-to-face talks, saying the US president "can listen" -- even if little progress was made on substance.

The Russian president contrasted Obama as "totally different" to his predecessor George W. Bush, whom he blamed for the "mistake" of US missile shield plans fiercely opposed by Moscow.

Obama agreed to visit Moscow in July after his talks with Medvedev on Wednesday on the sidelines of a G20 summit in London aimed at fixing the battered world economy.

"I believe that we managed to establish contact. But Moscow lies ahead. I cannot say that we made much progress on the most serious issues," he told reporters, adding: "Let's wait and see."

"I liked the talks. It is easy to talk to him. He can listen. The start of this relationship is good," he said, adding: "Today it's a totally different situation (compared to Bush)... This suits me quite well."

No doubt Putin's toady was referring to the possibility that we will leave Poland and the rest of Eastern Europe in the lurch and renege on our promise to deliver a missile shield to the former satellites of Moscow. One can understand the Russian's gushiness; betraying our ally is exactly what they've wanted from Obama all along.

Obama will also probably concede our backing Georgia's NATO application. This would be a much smaller stab in the back than abandoning Eastern Europe but still significant given the danger Georgia faces from Russian troops.

It's very easy to get in the good graces of Russia; simply give them what they want. In this, Obama is becoming an expert in surrendering to the Bear and we can look forward to many years of groveling before the Russians in the future.l