Western news sources criticizing Putin? Color me shocked!
I don't think that Obama should be like Putin, but he should likely stay out of the way of the people who have a better idea of who the real bad guys are.
So they're making up the freedom of the press problems in Russia? I know several Russians who have moved here and have told me how it is there. Also, the 2nd link I showed has the U.S. ranked 23rd.
There are definitely differences in the way that Putin handles his country than what is deemed acceptable in the West and there are definitely corruption problems.
My point was that Putin's support is something that Western politicians can only dream of and that what Eastern and Western cultures consider to be the traits of a strong leader are different.
My point was he does not have the kind of support you're saying he does. It's all a fantasy. When you destroy dissenting opinions it's funny how everyone suddenly seems to like you.
Reports of his approval are likely made up as well.
Putting a muzzle on a number of media outlets doesn't translate to him not having very high support or approval. I read somewhere on this board (maybe 500 times?) that correlation doesn't mean...hmmm...let me think about it for a while.
Why are the reports likely made up? Just because the regimes clamps down on media that is deemed to be destructive to operations and values of the country?
This is derailing the thread, though. Anyone is free to get things back on track.