I haven’t had time to read Obama’s foreign policy interview yet but I hear it’s being wildly celebrated in Russia as very complimentary towards Putin. Of course, even if Obama said, “I wish Putin just died already,” Russian media would report it as “Obama praised Putin for being very lively.”
For now, I can just say that the Russian media report that Obama praised Putin for being smart, punctual and decisive. What actual quotes this spin is based on I don’t know yet.
If this is the interview, then this article at its beginning has links to different parts, so you can choose to jump directly to parts about Ukraine and Putin (parts 3 and 7):
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/04/the-obama-doctrine/471525/#10
I read part 10 too 🙂 and don’t see how Obama’s being “the African American son of a single mother” has to do with anything.
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Here is the quote about Putin. I was shocked by “He never keeps me waiting two hours like he does a bunch of these other folks.” Is Obama boasting about it or what? One would think being kept waiting for 2 hours would be unthinkable to the leader of the free world.
Also, “he’s not completely stupid” is not that far away from yours “I wish Putin just died already.” 🙂 But I am surprised Obama permitted himself such an inpolite statement about another head of a not-unimportant state. You may hate Putin, but politicians should be careful about what they say, no?
Obama also sounds like a case of hubris here: he, “the African American son of a single mother,” understands everything better than Bibi (who lives here, served in IDF, has been an Israeli PM for many years and 100% knows the region better than Obama) , while Putin is stupid, even if not completely so. Who told him Putin is stupid and why?
QUOTE:
[Obama] described a relationship with Putin that doesn’t quite conform to common perceptions. I had been under the impression that Obama viewed Putin as nasty, brutish, and short. But, Obama told me, Putin is not particularly nasty.
“The truth is, actually, Putin, in all of our meetings, is scrupulously polite, very frank. Our meetings are very businesslike. He never keeps me waiting two hours like he does a bunch of these other folks.” Obama said that Putin believes his relationship with the U.S. is more important than Americans tend to think. “He’s constantly interested in being seen as our peer and as working with us, because he’s not completely stupid. He understands that Russia’s overall position in the world is significantly diminished. And the fact that he invades Crimea or is trying to prop up Assad doesn’t suddenly make him a player. You don’t see him in any of these meetings out here helping to shape the agenda. For that matter, there’s not a G20 meeting where the Russians set the agenda around any of the issues that are important.”
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(In Russian) A reaction to Obama’s interview:
http://scholar-vit.livejournal.com/463115.html
This was funny:
Хочется “показать Путину фигу” (опять выражение Голдберга)? А зачем, если Путин сам последовательно ослабляет свою страну? Следует просто не мешать ему в этом. Если же России так хочется в Сирию, то нужно взять пример с Тома Сойера: ну и пускай Путин красит этот забор, да еще платит за эту привилегию.
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Things Obama could say and how the Russian media would report them.
Obama: “He’s the goddamn aboslute worst head of state in the world today!”
RM: Obama said that Putin was absolutely outstanding!
Obama: “He’s a murderous little greasy pimp!”
RM: Obama said that Putin was a multifaceted leader!
Obama: “I’d like to crush his miserable little ugly head!”
RM: Obama expressed a desire for closer contact with Putin!
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Things that others say about Putin and how the Russian media reports could be a new source of Radio Erevan jokes…..
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
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