President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin may have finally found something in common.
Anyone who tuned in to last week's diplomatic talks between the two world leaders at the Eastern European "oasis" of Bratislava, Slovakia, would have probably noticed the cold, sober tone with which both men conducted themselves, due in large part to the long history of disagreement between the two nations in most areas of global policy. However, in his now-customary efforts to advocate the proliferation of American democracy throughout the world, Bush may have accidentally stumbled upon one area of domestic policy in which Russia and America actually bear striking similarities - "freedom" of the press.
On Thursday, Bush offered a vague attack on the democratic values of Putin's state when he said, "Democracies have certain things in common. They have a rule of law and protection of minorities, a free press and a viable political opposition." All gripes over proper definitions of democracy aside, though, these hypocritical comments did at least prompt a Russian journalist to ask Putin why he didn't challenge Bush and "talk a lot about violations of the rights of journalists in the United States, about the fact that some journalists have been fired."
How, then, did our noble president respond to this attack on the integrity of the democratic ideals of his proud nation? As far as I'm concerned, he lied. "I don't know what journalists you are referring to," he said, then turned toward the American reporters in the audience and disrespectfully joked, "Any of you still have your jobs?"
Anyone who tuned in to last week's diplomatic talks between the two world leaders at the Eastern European "oasis" of Bratislava, Slovakia, would have probably noticed the cold, sober tone with which both men conducted themselves, due in large part to the long history of disagreement between the two nations in most areas of global policy. However, in his now-customary efforts to advocate the proliferation of American democracy throughout the world, Bush may have accidentally stumbled upon one area of domestic policy in which Russia and America actually bear striking similarities - "freedom" of the press.
On Thursday, Bush offered a vague attack on the democratic values of Putin's state when he said, "Democracies have certain things in common. They have a rule of law and protection of minorities, a free press and a viable political opposition." All gripes over proper definitions of democracy aside, though, these hypocritical comments did at least prompt a Russian journalist to ask Putin why he didn't challenge Bush and "talk a lot about violations of the rights of journalists in the United States, about the fact that some journalists have been fired."
How, then, did our noble president respond to this attack on the integrity of the democratic ideals of his proud nation? As far as I'm concerned, he lied. "I don't know what journalists you are referring to," he said, then turned toward the American reporters in the audience and disrespectfully joked, "Any of you still have your jobs?"
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