Might be more accurate to say 'someone we can work with' rather than 'their man' in the White House ' unless hyperbole is you natural style.
Go back to 2012, and the face to face Medvedev had with Obama: 'Wait until the election's over, then I'll have more flexibility" from Obama.
(CNSNews.com) - President Obama was running for re-election in March 2012, when a live microphone picked up his whispered conversation with then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Obama told Medvedev it was important for incoming President Vladimir Putin to "give me space" on missile defense and other difficult issues and that after the 2012 presidential election he would have "more flexibility." Medvedev said he would "transmit" the message to Putin.