what nobody seems to be picking up is that when they (in this case, the post) quote someone, as they did here with grant, they don't connect him to someone of such low expectations. iow, if the guy is impressed because you dressed yourself, would you value his assessment of you?

I was very impressed," said Charles Grant, director of the Center for European Reform, a London-based research group that favors strong links to North America. "Of course it's only words -- but in diplomacy, words set the tone."

The visit "does imply that Bush 2 is very different than Bush 1," Grant added. "If he can at least go through the motions of taking the European Union seriously, because the expectations are so low I think they will certainly forgive him for being the Big Bad Bush of the first term."