When U.S. White House insider David Gergen - he works both sides of the street, having toiled for a number of presidents from Republican Ronald Reagan to Democrat Bill Clinton - was in Toronto two weeks ago for the Grano Salon Series, he titillated business types with some inside-the-Beltway gossip at a small luncheon held the same day by series sponsor Bennett Jones. The subject up for discussion was which Democratic presidential candidate would best be able to handle tough-guy Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Mr. Gergen told his listeners that regarding Barak Obama, "the question is not whether he can take a punch, but whether he can throw a punch; whether he can stand up to Putin around the table."
Then Mr. Gergen offered the luncheon crowd new details about a widely reported incident that happened on a trip to Russia in June, 2005, by some prominent American CEOs, including New England Patriots owner and paper packaging mogul Robert Kraft, then-Citigroup chairman Sandy Weill, Rupert Murdoch of News Corp. and others. It seems at one point in a meeting with Mr. Putin, Mr. Kraft was encouraged to show the leader his 2005 Super Bowl ring - a 124-diamond encrusted heavy-duty piece of bling. He pulled it out of his pocket - he doesn't wear it - and Mr. Putin took it, tried it on, showed it around and commented: "You know, you could kill a man with this." He then pocketed the valuable memento and later left the meeting without returning it.
Mr. Kraft asked Mr. Putin's officials a few times during the rest of the visit when the ring would be returned, to no avail. The story of Mr. Putin taking the ring subsequently hit the media. Mr. Gergen told the luncheon group that Mr. Kraft then got a call from the State Department saying the Putin government was "furious because the accusation is that Putin is a thief" and asking the businessman to put out a fence-mending statement. Which he did, saying, "Upon seeing the ring, President Putin, a great and knowledgeable sports fan, was clearly taken with its uniqueness. At that point, I decided to give him the ring" as a token of "respect and admiration."
