He reads the Russian edition of the Old Gray Whore.
Posted on 05/06/2005 7:48:08 AM PDT by wagglebee
MIND YOUR OWN DEMOCRACY, SAYS PRESIDENT PUTIN, DEFENDING RUSSIA'S AND CRITICIZING AMERICA'S ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM, IN AN EXCLUSIVE "60 MINUTES" INTERVIEW SUNDAY ON CBS
A combative Vladimir Putin tells Mike Wallace he should question his own country's democratic ways before looking for problems with Russia's. The Russian president also says the U.S. shouldn't try to export its democracy, as it is trying to do in Iraq, in an exclusive interview to be broadcast on 60 MINUTES Sunday May 8 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
Wallace gets quite a reaction from Putin by asking him about a recent change the Russian leader made. Says Wallace, "There was a time when the regional governors were elected, correct? And all of the sudden, Putin says, 'No, no, no. I shall appoint the governors.' That's democracy? That's not democracy the way I understand it," says Wallace. "The principle of appointing regional leaders is not a sign of a lack of democracy," Putin retorts. "You're absolutely wrong. For instance, India is called the largest world democracy. But their governors have always been appointed by the central government and nobody disputes that India is not a democracy," says Putin.
The Russian leader then points to what he believes are drawbacks to America's own brand of democracy, including the Electoral College system. "In the United States, you first elect the electors and then they vote for the presidential candidates. In Russia, the president is elected through the direct vote of the whole population. That might be even more democratic," Putin says. "And you have other problems in your elections," he tells Wallace. "Four years ago your presidential election was decided by the court. The judicial system was brought into it. But we're not going to poke our noses into your democratic system because that's up to the American people."
Putin also believes the U.S. democratic system does not travel well and that is precisely why he was against the war in Iraq from the beginning. "Democracy cannot be exported to some other place. [Democracy] must be a product of internal domestic development in a society," says the Russian president.
But pulling out of Iraq is not an option, says Putin. "But if the U.S. were to leave and abandon Iraq without establishing the grounds for a united and sovereign country, that would definitely be a second mistake," he tells Wallace.
Well at least 60 Minutes is now having interviews with it's friends!
Next week we will find out that one of Viacom's publishing units is releasing a new book where Putin "proves" that every problem in the world in Bush's fault.
As if Mike Wallace doesn't.
I agree. He's managed to do quite a bit without too many eyebrows being raised, also.
Well it doesn't really.
That's a great reason to say no to the war!
Compared to no WMDs being a better reason for saying no?
She [the United States] well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extrication, in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy, and ambition, which assume the colors and usurp the standard of freedom. The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force....Of course there's another reason but don't let anything Putin says concern you...and of course the fact that democracy can not be imported, it has to come from within.
Sounds like he's getting The New York Times dacha delivered.
CBS is an expert.
You could not have hit the nail on the head any more squarely.
"Vat can I say vidout droppink a fly in da borscht, eh?"
He has a fundamental, perhaps willful, misunderstanding of our R E P U B L I C and the freedom to dispute and arbitrate elections, and his stance on the Iraq war is disingenuous at best.
When he first came into power, I liked him. He's had to work pretty hard for me to dislike him, but he's achieved the goal.
He reads the Russian edition of the Old Gray Whore.
Thank you my husband do will write Thank you
"Just not long ago, someone posted Putin comments about Dresden, and now this. I have nothing against Russian people, they have been through enough of sorrows and pain as we poles have been through. Communism is a system that deprives you of your breath of freedom and self respect, and it seems Putin is living in amnesia state of mind. Taking a page from his mentor Andropov, he surely gets around telling other countries about democracy. Now here is a problem; democracy is a system; each country from each country adjusts to its own system of values and thinking. What works for US, may not necessarily work for us in Poland or other parts of the world; nonetheless denying people their freedom and dignity and criticizing their points of view is not what would you call democracy, rather self projections of his views and his misunderstanding of certain historical differences between US and other countries around the world. And who made Putin on expert of US policies and US democratic point of view. US has its own problems, nonetheless, at least they took ball by a horn, and send their young ones to fight for something they believe in freedom, dignity and self-respect. Instead criticizing US, maybe Putin should clean his own backyard, or is his memory to short of remembering what is happening in Russia, he should stop complaining and rather unite in more emerging threat to us all-terrorism."
Thank you
Beautifully said Sara!
I think you nailed it there. But Putin doesn't have amnesia, because men like Putin, Andropov and the other Politburo types didn't experience the dark side of communist oppression -- they were the oppressers.
Considering how much "advice" he's been getting from everyone with an opinion, are you surprised he bit back?
I'm glad the Japanese and Germans don't agree with you. They would still be a menace to the world. I do believe that in both countries, democracy was imported.
Right, I hadn't read that far down, in a subsequent post, I amended what I had said and specifically stated that I thought he was wrong on that note.
Also, I am not so sure that Democracy in Russia was NOT in some way "imposed" from outside. We got to them, their people. Won that war without firing a single (big) shot. Thank to Ronald Reagan..
"I'm not surprise, however I'm surprise he decided to go this way and lashing at US for no reason, in this I think he made a fatal mistake. As I said, if we don't put our differences aside and unite against terrorism, we are heading for a war this world has not seen. It is pointless to criticize other countries, each country has different distinctive identity, especially country like US, you well know; if US and Russia would join their forces together against terrorism, no country on this planet would stand against them. Somewhere Putin is loosing his marbles and this goes for others as well. I surely hope he gets better advisers with wide open range of options, instead attacking US, he should build a bridge of true friendship against those who are looking for ways to exterminate us"
Thank you
What was George Washington's advice on leading by example not the bayonet? Oh, but he's just another dead old white guy, why listen to him? If a culture is not ready for democracy, dropping it on top of them isn't going to change them. Before you pull out Germany and Japan as an example of success, note that both were republican systems before they were hijacked by fascist parties (aka our modern day democrats). Places like Iraq have never known a self imposed republican system (only Lebanon of the 22 arab nations was a republic and coincidently it was also 51% Christian then) and so, I fully believe that once we leave, it will collapse.
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