Bush, Putin, and Dan Rather: Welcome to My World
Claire Berlinski, Ed. ·
Apr 1, 2011 at 9:49am
Scott Johnson pointed this out on Powerline--a priceless extract from Decision Points:
I was especially worried about [Putin's] arrests of Russian businessmen and his crackdown on the free press. "Don't lecture me about the free press," he said. "Not after you fired that reporter." It dawned on me what he was referring to. "Vladimir, are you talking about Dan Rather?" I asked. He said he was. I said, "I strongly suggest you not say that in public. The American people will think you don't understand our system."
I'm in sad hysterics about this. I have variants on this conversation so often.
Scott writes, "If this story came from just about anybody but President Bush, I'd suspect its veracity."
Not me.
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Comments :
Re: Bush, Putin, and Dan Rather: Welcome to My World
It's true -- it's as if everyone else in the world has been fed a steady diet of distorting, childish, paranoid, and utterly meretricious perspectives on the United States.
Which they have. They're called "American movies."
Oct '10
Re: Bush, Putin, and Dan Rather: Welcome to My World
Rob, it's also called the "Democratic Party", in which the party leaders insinuate this kind of state control whenever they're not in power.
May '10
Re: Bush, Putin, and Dan Rather: Welcome to My World
Well, quite. While in most of the world criticizing the Prez is a career-limiting move, if not a life threatening one, here it equals Nielsen gold.
Jul '10
Re: Bush, Putin, and Dan Rather: Welcome to My World
A 21st version of the story of Kruschev's angry disbelief as he flew in to JFK's DC to see a full Pentagon parking lot, "knowing" that there could not be that many cars in the entire city. You thought the CIA was the only lame intelligence service?
Jun '10
Re: Bush, Putin, and Dan Rather: Welcome to My World
This wasn't the only time Putin made such a comment. A British media outlet (can't remember which) interviewed Akhmed Zakayev, a Chechen leader in asylum in the U.K. a while back. He is one of Putin's biggest enemies. He blasted Tony Blair for allowing the interview to happen. Blair pretty much replied, "Uh, our government doesn't determine what's in the free press Vladi." Though Putin is considered to be one of the craftiest statesmen out there, he frequently produces very revealing gaffes about who he is and how he thinks the world and Russia operate. It's both scary and fascinating at the same time.
Jul '10
Re: Bush, Putin, and Dan Rather: Welcome to My World
Actually, these "gaffes," going back to the earliest Soviet days, have been deployed tactically to sidetrack negotiations. Chalk it up to bluster.
Jun '10
Re: Bush, Putin, and Dan Rather: Welcome to My World
I can't deny that, and for Putin, negotiations and bluster are his trademarks. Still, if you follow him enough, you have to see that many of his remarks are borderline buffoonery. He has done more damage to Russia's reputation and to any on-the-ground opportunities for its citizens than anyone else.
Edited on Apr 1, 2011 at 1:04pmMay '10
Re: Bush, Putin, and Dan Rather: Welcome to My World
If only Putin had listened to that Anna Chapman chick, he'd be more in touch. With the Wall Street cocktail party circuit, anyway.
Sep '10
Re: Bush, Putin, and Dan Rather: Welcome to My World
On the contrary, Bush should have encouraged Putin to talk about it. Perhaps then the press might have at least some paltry measure of respect for Bush.
Edited on Apr 1, 2011 at 2:54pmJul '10
Re: Bush, Putin, and Dan Rather: Welcome to My World
I had a strange phone call the other night. Russian-sounding dude. Wanted to know what the frequency was....
Feb '11
Re: Bush, Putin, and Dan Rather: Welcome to My World
It's a telling commentary that those so steeped in totalitarianism literally can't comprehend what life is like without it. The same applies to paternalist big government and welfare states - once you get the idea of external control, a part of you loses the ability to live without it. Being able to actually live in liberty is, in many ways, like trying to quit a drug.
Jul '10
Re: Bush, Putin, and Dan Rather: Welcome to My World
Actually, I think Bush handled it perfectly. Putin, the aggressive KGB veteran trying to dig into some vein of rustic insecurity in Bush, and Bush responds with a put down wrapped in a velvet glove of advice, never acknowledging Putin's implied insult. Classic.
Edited on Apr 1, 2011 at 9:05pmJul '10
Re: Bush, Putin, and Dan Rather: Welcome to My World
Dave Molinari
I can't deny that, and for Putin, negotiations and bluster are his trademarks. Still, if you follow him enough, you have to see that many of his remarks are borderline buffoonery. He has done more damage to Russia's reputation and to any on-the-ground opportunities for its citizens than anyone else.
Buying that. His refusal to step down in any meaningful way after his terms represents a classic case of an anti-Cincinnatis.
May '10
Re: Bush, Putin, and Dan Rather: Welcome to My World
I wonder how many Russians believe that foreign reporters truly have more freedom than their own.