by ANDREW LEVINE
Suddenly last summer, Vladimir Putin, formerly once a decent enough Russian leader (with a few unsettling quirks), turned into a malevolent, almost demonic, force.
Congratulations to the American propaganda system for putting over this remarkable metamorphosis.
At the same time, the verdict on Barack Obama did not change – not last summer, not since he assumed office.
From the moment that it became clear that his presidency would be rife with “disappointments” and sparing in achievements, Democrats have maintained that he means well and would be a force for good – were it not for pesky Republicans thwarting his every move.
Republicans, meanwhile, have a different view. For them, Obama has always been evil incarnate – like Putin now is, maybe worse. Hell, he may not even be a Christian, and he doesn’t “love America.”
Needless to say, the Republican take on Obama is preposterous. But then the liberal view is preposterous too. Disappointed Obamaphiles are not as in-your-face stupid as GOP Obamaphobes, but it is hard to say which is worse.
* * *
Obama’s first term was, for the most part, a continuation of George Bush’s second.
Winding down (repackaging) the never-ending wars Bush and Dick Cheney started in Afghanistan and Iraq was one of Obama’s principal objectives. Bush and Cheney had been working on this too, at least since 2006.
It was the same with 24/7 surveillance. Obama’s predecessors got it going; then Obama picked up the ball and ran with it, taking it as far as he could. In this case, there was not even a pretense of winding anything down; the point was to rev the snooping up.
Complete story at - The Metamorphosis of Vladimir Putin » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names
Suddenly last summer, Vladimir Putin, formerly once a decent enough Russian leader (with a few unsettling quirks), turned into a malevolent, almost demonic, force.
Congratulations to the American propaganda system for putting over this remarkable metamorphosis.
At the same time, the verdict on Barack Obama did not change – not last summer, not since he assumed office.
From the moment that it became clear that his presidency would be rife with “disappointments” and sparing in achievements, Democrats have maintained that he means well and would be a force for good – were it not for pesky Republicans thwarting his every move.
Republicans, meanwhile, have a different view. For them, Obama has always been evil incarnate – like Putin now is, maybe worse. Hell, he may not even be a Christian, and he doesn’t “love America.”
Needless to say, the Republican take on Obama is preposterous. But then the liberal view is preposterous too. Disappointed Obamaphiles are not as in-your-face stupid as GOP Obamaphobes, but it is hard to say which is worse.
* * *
Obama’s first term was, for the most part, a continuation of George Bush’s second.
Winding down (repackaging) the never-ending wars Bush and Dick Cheney started in Afghanistan and Iraq was one of Obama’s principal objectives. Bush and Cheney had been working on this too, at least since 2006.
It was the same with 24/7 surveillance. Obama’s predecessors got it going; then Obama picked up the ball and ran with it, taking it as far as he could. In this case, there was not even a pretense of winding anything down; the point was to rev the snooping up.
Complete story at - The Metamorphosis of Vladimir Putin » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names
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