Finally, the leaders of our country and our children's homeland may be learning how to beat swords into plowshares. And it couldn’t have come at a more symbolic time for adoption.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the United States late Sunday afternoon, not in Washington and all things formal, but in Kennebunkport, Me., home to the family compound of U.S. President George Bush. According to the Associated Press, the meeting, which will last less than 24 hours, came at the request of President Putin.

There is no set agenda for this meeting (other than a lobster dinner), and that's probably a good thing. The relationship between these leaders has been bad--nothing like what one commentator called the "Boris 'n' Bill show" put on by their respective predecessors. President Bush's proposal to site a missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland has been repeatedly blasted by the Kremlin. And Washington has taken Moscow to task over democracy crackdowns.

They both need--and I'll put this in parental terms--a serious time-out. And I can think of no better place to have that than on the Maine coast in summer. Well, OK, maybe I wouldn't have invited the 1,500 protesters who flooded Kennebunkport, according to Reuters, but that's a democracy for you. (The Associated Press put the crowd count at 1,700 and said they encompassed everything from anti-war to pro-impeachment.)

Now, I know that, to other folks, inter-country adoption is a small issue when placed alongside Iran, Iraq, missiles, nuclear bombs and the tightening of political freedoms. But less than 48 hours after President Putin heads on to Guatemala (there's a meeting there about the 2014 Olympics and Russia is making a push for Sochi), there will be some welcome news in the world of U.S. adoptions from Russia. I'm going to go ahead and confirm the reports that have been circulating on the chat boards--the first of the adoption agency re-accreditations will be issued this Wednesday, July 4, to Cradle of Hope.

Could somebody in the protest crowd please hold up a sign that says, "Thank You Vladimir"?