President Bush's Cheeseburger Diplomacy

Call it cheeseburger diplomacy. Japan's prime minister says he and U.S. President George W. Bush munched their way to a relaxed first-name basis, befitting their countries' close alliance during his first U.S. visit as premier.

"President Bush and I were able to deepen our friendship and trust -- in fact, we are now on a first-name basis, calling each other 'George' and 'Shinzo,'" Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wrote Thursday in his e-mail newsletter of his April 26-27 American visit.

Bush even sealed the bond with a lunch of "quintessentially American fare, a large cheeseburger," said the Japanese leader, himself a known ice cream fanatic.