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Earlier this month Yeltsin and his wife Anastasia came to dinner at Spaso House for the first time. Actually, Yeltsin invited himself, explaining that he wanted "to meet Mrs. Strauss and for you to meet Mrs. Yeltsin and for me to practice some personal diplomacy in the American style." During cocktails in a small sitting room, Strauss served the Tex-Mex nachos he likes to make. "There's no point in serving caviar to the President of Russia," he said. Before the couples adjourned to the family dining room, Strauss offered a toast to "you, your country and to what you've done for the world. It has been," he added, "an inspiration to all of us." Yeltsin smiled and gave a surprising response. The date, he noted, was March 2, which is the birthday of his predecessor, Mikhail Gorbachev. "I think we should drink a toast to Mikhail Sergeyevich," Yeltsin said, "and to everything he accomplished."
For all his activity, Strauss, who has never before lived abroad, is far from happy in Moscow. He and his wife miss their family and friends and the comforts of life in the U.S. Routine diversions are meager: on weekends he might shop for souvenirs or artwork in the Old Arbat near Spaso House, then return home and warm up canned chili for lunch. "Helen and I gave up a life we simply loved to come over here," Strauss says. "We didn't do it because I wanted to add another title to my resume or to be exposed to a Russian winter. We came over here because President Bush said he wanted me to be engaged." For Strauss, the eight-hour time difference with the U.S. makes it difficult for him to keep in touch by phone the way he'd like. Ask him what the worst part of his job is, and he responds, "I'm lonely!" And he says it as if he hopes his voice will carry all the way back to his many friends at home.
Still, Strauss knows the importance of what he's doing. Ask him the best part of his job, and he says, "The challenge. Every now and then, I'll come home and tell Helen, 'Tonight, dammit, honey, I got something done that makes a difference in the world.' "
For some years Bob Strauss nurtured faint dreams of being President of the U.S. From time to time, he still does. Then he thinks twice. And, on second thought, he realizes this may be as close as he will ever get to his dream job -- and that he'd better make the most of it.