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   From: liamhardshell@bikerider.com   
      
   >   
   >The right rediscovers its admiration for Vladimir Putin   
   >Under Obama, much of the right expressed its admiration for   
   >the Russian president. Under Biden, it appears to be   
   >happening again. /   
   >June 18, 2021, 11:22 AM EDT   
   >By Steve Benen   
   >   
   >Early on in his presidency, Donald Trump was reminded in an   
   >interview that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "a   
   >killer." The Republican replied, "There are a lot of   
   >killers. We've got a lot of killers. What, do you think our   
   >country's so innocent?"   
   >   
   >As we discussed at the time, Americans weren't accustomed to   
   >hearing their president be quite this critical of the United   
   >States. It was just as odd to see a U.S. chief executive   
   >drawing a moral equivalence between us and an autocracy.   
   >   
   >Four years later, as Joe Biden's presidency got underway,   
   >the Democrat was asked whether he sees Putin as "a killer."   
   >Biden, unlike his immediate predecessor, replied, "I do."   
   >   
   >This apparently didn't sit well with the Russian leader, who   
   >responded by, among other things, challenging the American   
   >president to participate in some kind of televised debate.   
   >As Jon Chait noted soon after, it was at this point when   
   >Trump's allies immediately weighed in -- "on Putin's side."   
   >   
   >They weren't alone. Conservative media seemed quite excited   
   >about the debate challenge -- Fox News featured two   
   >side-by-side images of Biden and Putin, though the latter   
   >wasn't wearing a shirt -- and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R- Fla.)   
   >added that he believes the Russian would prevail in the   
   >hypothetical showdown.   
   >   
   >The implications of such rhetoric are not lost on the GOP   
   >base. Slate's William Saletan highlighted some recent   
   >polling this week that helped drive the point home:   
   >   
   >    Many Republicans personally trust or admire Putin....   
   >    More than 60   
   >percent of Democrats view Putin very unfavorably, but only   
   >30 percent to 40 percent of Republicans do. In two polls   
   >taken this week -- one by Morning Consult for Politico, the   
   >other by YouGov for the Economist -- Putin has a better net   
   >favorable rating among Republicans than Biden does, by   
   >margins of 16 and 22 points, respectively.   
   >   
   >It is, of course, jarring to see rank-and-file Republican   
   >voters think more highly of Putin than Biden, though there   
   >is something oddly familiar about the circumstances.   
   >   
   >Circling back to our earlier coverage, it was seven years   
   >ago, for example, when then-Republican presidential hopeful   
   >Ben Carson wrote about how impressed he was with Russia's   
   >direction under Putin's leadership. "Russians seem to be   
   >gaining prestige and influence throughout the world as we   
   >are losing ours," Carson said, describing the exact opposite   
   >of reality.   
   >   
   >The same month, Mike Rogers, at the time the Republican   
   >chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, expressed his   
   >own admiration: "Putin is playing chess and I think we are   
   >playing marbles." Soon after, former half-term Alaska Gov.   
   >Sarah Palin (R) added, "People are looking at Putin as one   
   >who wrestles bears and drills for oil. They look at   
   >president Trump as one who wears mom jeans."   
   >   
   >   
   >   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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