[dmz]

The enemy of your enemy can still be your enemy.

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I would have thought that Putin’s slap at American exceptionalism (an article of faith here at FR) would have blown that admiration of Putin to smithereens.

[tanknetter]

American exceptionalism is a product of the American People wanting to be exceptional.

The 2008 and 2012 elections, the willingness to accept things like healthcare reform, etc show that the American People no longer want to be exceptional.

I can’t, therefore, fault Putin for calling things as he sees them.

[Navy Patriot]

I would have thought that Putin’s slap at American exceptionalism (an article of faith here at FR) would have blown that admiration of Putin to smithereens.

It might have, if Putin had used the FR definition of American Exceptionalism.

Putin accepted the Leftist DemoRat, MSM, Hollywood entertainment industry definition of it to lecture about.

I doubt Putin is even aware of the FR definition.

Putin was addressing the "American Exceptionalism" that the MSM presented to him. Remember, the leftist DemoRat media controls the language and how it is used to present America to the world, except here at FR, and that same MSM uses language manipulation to demonize conservatives and all their American Exceptionalism principles.

[Steve_Seattle]

Putin has gotten some conservative kudos for recent comments about the importance of Christianity to Western Civilization and for his resistance to the gay agenda. But, apart from that, I think most conservatives realize that Putin is in some ways a thug and not someone we would really want running this country.

As for conservatives "worshipping" Putin, worship of political figures is much more a liberal trait. Every presidential election cycle, the MSM anoint the Democratic candidate as the smartest man in the world, and his wife as the smartest and most beautiful woman in the world. Meanwhile, on FR, virtually every Republican president or presidential candidate or politician seems to have as many critics as fans.

I have yet to see a conservative wearing a Putin t-shirt, but all my life I've seen libs touting people like Castro, Chairman Mao, Che, Hugo Chavez, Ho Chi Minh, Lenin, Marx, and other leftist rogues.

[freedomfiter2]

It didn’t because our politicians have successfully destroyed our exceptionalism.

[Steve_Seattle]

"I would have thought that Putin’s slap at American exceptionalism (an article of faith here at FR) would have blown that admiration of Putin to smithereens."

Several other countries have or used to have a strong sense of THEIR exceptionalism, e.g., England, France, Italy, Spain, China, Japan, India, Germany, Israel, and Russia come to mind. In my college days I studied the Russian philosopher Berdyaev, who wrote extensively on the topic of Russian exceptionalism, although he did not use that word.

For a long time, Russians have believed that their country plays a unique role in world history. That idea used to be tied-in with Orthodoxy, then was sidetracked into Soviet communism, and is now looking for a new expression in which Orthodoxy may again play a role. So I think Putin is giving voice to a very traditional Russian view of things.