Let the Big Dog Run. The grinning North Korean & stony-faced American were no doubt both savoring their moment of mutual relevanace.

Maureen Dowd observes in The New York Times:

There were no bonsais in view, unfortunately. But the two leaders posed, stiff as tree trunks, in front of a mural of waves.

Kim Jong-il’s bright smiles were not returned by Bill Clinton. It was strange to see the reclusive Kim so eager and the raffish Clinton so disciplined. Yet the grinning North Korean and stony-faced American were no doubt both savoring their moment of mutual relevance.

Bill had the additional schadenfreude spritz of knowing that he had usurped three men he’d had fraught relationships with — Bill Richardson, Jimmy Carter and Al Gore (whose media company the women were working for) — by getting the high-profile assignment to rescue the damsels in distress.

Hillary and President Obama look bigger when they share the stage with other talented players. And Barack and Bill may have finally started to put South Carolina behind them — without the need for a beer summit photo-op.