Michael Barone has labeled the Obama Administration as ‘gangster government’ and the appellation seems to stick. But comparisons go further, however. Yesterday, Eric Cantor compared Hope ‘n Change with Vladimir Putin. Let’s see, both have a fawning media, both use threats and intimidation and both try to use the ‘color of law’ to destroy their enemies. While Hope ‘n Change doesn’t have an available gulag at the moment, give him time.
It’s also a measure of the times that Cantor’s remarks went unnoticed in the US. We turn, therefore, to the Moscow Times for All the News That’s Fit to Print:
Some U.S. lawmakers are complaining that the United States is beginning to look like Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s Russia under the leadership of President Barack Obama.
Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives, has likened Obama’s plans for the U.S. auto industry to Putin’s policies.
“It’s almost like looking at Putin’s Russia,” Cantor said last week. “You want to reward your political friends at the expense of the certainty of law?”
Conservatives like Cantor eagerly compare such government “meddling” and Obama’s governing style to leaders half a world away.
“Like Obama, Putin has a fawning media that is intimidated by an uncertain marketplace and looking for any help to stay afloat,” John Feehery, a conservative consultant and veteran House Republican spokesman, wrote last week on his blog.
But so far as we know, Hope ‘n Change hasn’t yet followed Putin into the rarefied realm of art criticism. Putin recently offered renowned artist Ilya Glazunov some suggestions on how the 79-year old Glazunov could improve his work. Again, from the Moscow Times:
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has tried his hand as an art critic, suggesting improvements to a painting that a respected Russian artist completed 36 years ago.
Putin’s attention was drawn to a sword in “Prince Oleg with Igor,” a large painting depicting medieval Russian heroes, when he visited the studio of painter Ilya Glazunov for his 79th birthday last week.
“The sword in his hand is a bit short,” Putin told the artist, who had completed the painting in 1973. “It looks like a pocket knife in his hands.”
Such a weapon “would only be good for slicing sausage,” he added.
Glazunov, whose paintings often glorify Russian culture and who opened a state-run gallery dedicated solely to his works in 2004, told Putin that he had an excellent eye for detail and promised to change the painting.
“I don’t miss a single detail,” Putin agreed.
Observe how the artist agreed with Putin and promised to change his work. We’ll know the true depths to which we’ve sunk if we see a US artist humbly accept such ‘criticism’ from Hope ‘n Change.
For all our sakes, let’s just pray that Hope ‘n Change isn’t as ‘detail-oriented’ as Putin.
