Columnist Rosa Brooks wonders if, years after their relationship got rocky, President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin can patch things up:

The U.S. can't afford to turn Russia into an enemy. If Bush wants to salvage something from his disastrous presidency, he needs to use his Sunday visit to Russia to get the relationship onto a healthier footing.

It won't be easy. Bush's Russia trip follows the NATO summit in Romania, and Bush this week reiterated his commitment to initiating a NATO "membership action plan" for Ukraine and Georgia, and to deploying missile defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic. Because Russia regards both steps as hostile acts, it's hard to see how Bush can make much progress when he meets this weekend with Putin and Putin's handpicked successor, Dmitry Medvedev.

Hard -- but not impossible.

Indiana University's Tibetan studies program direcotr Elliot Sperling thinks the Dalai Lama may be a dupe. Columnist Patt Morrison tries to count L.A. billboards, and finds out you can't. And Capt. Jeffrey L. Greer of the LAPD and Mike Albanese of SWAT explain why changes to the elite team's selection process will improve the force.

The editorial board says a recent immigration raid in Van Nuys went about as well as a raid can go. The board also thinks Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.) should be served a warrant like any other American, and argues that Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr.'s plan deserves a good look.

Readers react to John Bolton's Op-Ed proposing full diplomatic recognition for Taiwan. Claremont's Chunjuan Wei, who is writing a book on the Taiwan Strait problem, says, "Strict adherence to Taiwan's 'unilateral' rights could engender unnecessary risk to U.S. national security."