I thought this exchange between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was funny, in a chilling real-politic sort of way. From the Times Online:

With Russian tanks only 30 miles from Tbilisi on August 12, Mr. Sarkozy told Mr. Putin that the world would not accept the overthrow of Georgia’s Government. According to Mr. Levitte, the Russian seemed unconcerned by international reaction. “I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls,” Mr. Putin declared.

Mr. Sarkozy thought he had misheard. “Hang him?” — he asked. “Why not?” Mr. Putin replied. “The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein.”

Mr. Sarkozy, using the familiar tu, tried to reason with him: “Yes but do you want to end up like [President] Bush?” Mr. Putin was briefly lost for words, then said: “Ah — you have scored a point there.”

In one good thing might come from our dimwit President’s disastrous reign, it could be that for generations to come, heads of state wake up, look at themselves in the mirror in the morning, and say, “Don’t pull a Bush today.”

As for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, he responded to this exchange as one might assume:

Mr. Saakashvili, who was in Paris to meet Mr. Sarkozy yesterday, laughed nervously when a French radio station read him the exchange. “I knew about this scene, but not all the details. It’s funny, all the same,” he said.

I bet he thinks it’s hilarious!