As I am a civil servant, I have some first-hand experience on how a mid-level politician is prepared for important meetings.
My experience is that such talks are far more symbolic then Joe Public thinks. Everything important has been decided before, or after that meeting by staff: advisors, diplomats. They are of course working on guidelines issued earlier by their prez. But really, if Bush and Khadafi meet, they meet for the photo op, showing the world THAT they meet. That, as a symbol, is important. The actual talk is of little importance. They are quite probably talking about their grandchildren.