The odd thing about geo-politics, is that the leadership is never unbalanced; when that silly drunk Yeltsin was in power, so was Clinton and they were so similar it was uncanny. Same with GW and PUtin being in power at the same time. If Putin wins, I think we’ll have strong leadership, since if we had Obama for another four years, the balance of power in teh world would be disrupted in favor of Russia. America could not survive if in fact it were to be Putin VS. OBama and even Medvedev probably says unpleasant things behind Obama’s back.
“Putin would kill his own mother if ordered to or if he felt it served ‘’the needs of the state’’”
Well, it’s stuff like that, that sometimes makes a great leader; great leaders are not often good people. The real problem wiht it, is that his self discipline is inhuman; Yeltsin might have been a silly drunk, but Yeltsin was human. With Putin there is a coldness to him that isn’t natural.
“With Putin there is a coldness to him that isn’t natural’’. Tell me about it. Putin would have put the fear of God into Stalin and Ivan The Terrible himself.
Disagree. Great leaders are moral people. Such a characteristic as described by jmacusa is a highly immoral one. The USA’s founders would never sacrifice anyone, especially of their own families, on the altar of “the state”—and especially not at the whim of a demagogue.
Well, it’s stuff like that, that sometimes makes a great leader
Putin would kill his own mother if ordered to or if he felt it served “the needs of the state”