Oh, what a difference a year and a half can make -- especially when you've got a war going badly, plummeting poll numbers and skyrocketing gasoline prices at home, not to mention a wider Middle East on the verge of a meltdown and an Asian dictator who's decided to fire off a few missiles in order to thumb his nose, again, at the world.

Such is the state of the world of US President George W. Bush and it's part of the reason he came calling on Chancellor Angela Merkel with a very different attitude than the one he displayed 18 months ago when he visited her predecessor, Gerhard Schröder.

During the president's last visit to Germany, a seven-hour stopover in the city of Mainz in February 2005, relations between Schröder and Bush, while not quite as frosty as a German winter, were still decidedly chilly. Bush didn't take kindly to Schröder's vocal opposition to the US-led war in Iraq and the then-chancellor's playing of the anti-Bush card to win reelection in 2002. True, the deteriorating situation in Iraq had already taken a little of the swagger out of Bush's cowboy diplomacy, but not much. There were slightly forced smiles and handshakes, and talk about wanting to cooperate, but not much else.

Compared to that, the US leader's 36-hour visit to eastern Germany and his new best Euro-buddy Merkel was practically a love-in.

On meeting the German leader, Bush planted a big kiss on her cheek and later praised her "bold vision and humble heart," adding that he was "proud to call her a friend." You can be sure words like those would have never come from the president's mouth regarding Gerhard Schröder.

Merkel threw a barbecue for Bush, where they both took turns cutting slices off a wild boar that had been shot especially for the occasion. Merkel spent a lot of time talking about her experiences growing up in communist East Germany and how the transition from planned economy to a free market system has affected the region.

One of the purposes of this trip, especially for Merkel, was to cement a closer relationship between the long-term allies, which has suffered more during the years of the Bush administration then it has in the decades since the end of World War Two.

More in common

True, the two leaders are on more similar wavelengths than Bush and Schröder ever were. They both hail from conservative political parties, and Bush has shown himself to be much impressed by Merkel's rise from a scientist under a socialist system to one of the most powerful democratic leaders in the world.

And while Bush is probably best known for his like-it-or-lump-it attitude regarding US policy, this time, the tone was decidedly low key. He stressed in a press conference that the countries are trying to figure out a way to work together to solve problems like Iran and the Middle East. There wasn't the slightest echo of the "you're either with us or against" braggadocio to be heard.

But is all the good feeling just due to the fact that the two actually like each other, or is something else going on?

Gary Smith, head of the American Academy, a non-partisan policy research institute in Berlin, said the transformation of relations between the two leaders is substantive, not just as example of a kinder, gentler Bush, who's a bit gun-shy these days. The good interpersonal relationship plays a role, certainly, but "there's a new kind of diplomacy of which both the United States and Germany are protagonists. The Germans have become tougher, mainly on Iran," he said in an interview.

And while sensible shoes-wearing Merkel might appeal to Bush the Texan more than the Armani-clad Schröder did, the US president also needs her. He's finding he has begun losing his European allies. Elections in Spain, Italy and Poland have brought US skeptics to power. Tony Blair is fighting and losing a popularity battle at home and Bush feels it's time Merkel takes the prime minister's role as prime European friend.

She's got her own motives

Merkel has her own reasons for cultivating close ties. Better relations with the world's superpower mean Germany has -- just perhaps -- more influence in Washington. When Schröder and Bush's relations hit rock bottom, Germany found it had pretty much lost whatever voice it had in the US capital. German officials are already saying the effects are being felt, pointing to a slight shift in policy toward Iran as evidence. As my own Texan mother always says: You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

But the chancellor also has to play it cool, because George W. Bush is still extremely unpopular in Germany. Cozying up too much with the Texan might hurt her politically. The last thing Angela Merkel wants, as she steps into Tony Blair's shoes, is to also become the butt of "poodle" accusations that dogged the British prime minister.

She appears to know this, and is certainly not walking in lockstep with her new American friend. She has criticized the US prison at Guantanamo and said it should be closed. The Cold War is over, Germany's dependence on the US has lessened, and Merkel appears willing to embark on a path that, while generally in line with that of the Americans, isn't always perfectly parallel.

That could be a smart strategy. While the papers are full of talk about the warmth of relations between Bush and Merkel, the word "poodle" is nowhere to be seen.