Berlusconi: "Bush could be a visiting professor."

President Bush has hosted a parade of friendly foreign leaders at the White House over the past month, but today he welcomes perhaps one of his closest overseas buddies: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusco ni.

The meeting is likely to be a warm one. During a visit by Bush to Rome in June, the two leaders showered each other with praise during a gregarious news conference at a Renaissance villa.

The charismatic Berlusconi -- a media tycoon who was booted out of office in 2006, only to reclaim power in May -- was the first European leader to back the Iraq war and has remained stalwart in support of Bush despite the U.S. president's deep unpopularity in Italy. Berlusconi has even suggested that Bush could be a visiting professor at a university he has proposed.

"I have gotten to know President Bush very well," Berlusconi said in June. "I consider him to be a very close friend, a very unique person. . . . He's always shown that he has been able to be very close to those friends of his who have shared his ideals."

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"They've had moments where they've disagreed," Smith said. "But by and large, Berlusconi is with Bush, and they see the world much the same way. . . . I'm sure it will be a nice farewell."

Alas, the widening financial panic is likely to intrude. Berlusconi caused a small international incident Friday when he suggested that world leaders might consider closing financial markets in response to the meltdown; he said later in the day that he was only referring to rumors he heard on the radio.

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