Comparative perceptions
Americans who have not forgotten about Russia casually dismiss the legitimacy of recent Russian elections. Russians, according to journalist David Schultz, return the favor and assume that McCain is assured of election victory in November because he represents the Washington establishment.In Russia, they're watching the US elections with great interest--and fatalism
"Americans may have largely forgotten about Russia in the years since the collapse of the Soviet Union... [but] political observers [in Russia] are watching the 2008 US elections with avid interest and abundant dread. 'It was very clear they would love to see Barack Obama elected,' [David Schultz says]...
"'But they're also convinced that the United States will not elect Barack Obama this fall. They're convinced we'll never elect a mixed-race candidate. So they're fully prepared at this point for John McCain to be elected. They think he will be. And they view McCain as no different from George Bush in terms of approach to foreign policy and the use of military means as opposed to diplomacy.'..."
Labels: political culture, Russia
posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:51 AM
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U.S. Is in No Shape to Give Advice, Medvedev Says
"Russia’s new president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, less swaggering than his predecessor but as touchy about criticism from abroad, said in an interview that an America in “essentially a depression” was in no position to lecture other countries on how to conduct their affairs...
"Mr. Medvedev brushed aside American criticism of his country’s record on democracy and human rights. He also said that a revived Russia had a right to assume a larger role in a world economic system that he suggested should no longer be dominated by the United States...
"In the interview, Mr. Medvedev was asked about a call by Senator John McCain of Arizona... to bar Russia from the Group of 8 because of its record on democracy. Mr. Medvedev... responded that the question of democracy was irrelevant to the Group of 8 and, besides, the United States had more pressing matters to attend to.
"'The Group of 8 exists not because someone likes or dislikes it, but because objectively, they are the biggest world economies and the most serious players from the foreign policy point of view,' Mr. Medvedev said. 'Any attempts to put restrictions on anyone in this capacity will damage the entire world order.'"
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