But I don't think he'll be making life miserable for quite as many people.
Obviously, the world would be a better place without emperors. But until that happy day, I'd much prefer smart emperors over stupid ones.
- Jake 640 kiloton should be enough for anybody
You'll notice that I have't argued that Putin was worse than Yeltsin for the majority of the citizens of Russia, or even for EU-Russia relations. Indeed I do not think so. But I won't draw a general conclusion from this specific example. I brought up Hitler and Mussolini to counter JakeS's general claim. *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
Putin and Obama, I would argue are realists by comparison. They have a more sober appreciation of the limits of their own power and the reasons why others might oppose them. They are more amenable to negotiated solutions taking both their interests and those of their competing powers into account. They can build on common interests rather than polarising situations to such a degree that only extreme force - on either side - can resolve the conflict of interest.
Obama may not be a starry eyed idealist who will bring peace in our time overnight. But neither would he start stupid wars, and or re-polarise situations that are starting to find a relative level of stability. That is huge improvement on where we have been, and I will take it for the moment. notes from no w here
OTOH, while being smart does not guarantee that one is not delusional, there is a point where dumb and delusional become virtually indistinguishable.
