In today’s world dictators need to stick together
As some of you may know, Russia just had its general elections on Sunday where Vladimir Putin was hoping to be elected president. Well, it seems he achieved this feat quite handily, at least in one precinct in Chechnya, the country he has attacked mercilessly over the past number of years, where after the ballots were tallied he ended up with 107% of the vote. Over all, Putin won 58.3% of the vote.
The US State Department and other international election observers have all issued statements acknowledging and condemning the clear and abounding election fraud. Our own President Barack Obama, however, was far more supportive. From the Weekly Standard:
As the New York Times reported earlier in the week, there are serious charges that Putin rigged the election: “A day after claiming an overwhelming victory in Russia’s presidential election, Vladimir V. Putin on Monday faced a range of challenges to his legitimacy, including charges of fraud from international observers and a defiant opposition that vowed to keep him from serving his full six-year term.”
Even the State Department called for an investigation into the election earlier in the week.
Yet with President Obama reportedly calling to congratulate Putin, apparently the White House isn’t too concerned with the fraudulent election—or even its worrisome outcome.
Oh come on, now. Dictators in the era of new media and the 24/7 news cycle have it a lot harder than their predecessors of just a few decades ago and need to stick together.
In all seriousness, though, if you’re surprised at Obama’s eager offer of support for Putin’s illegitimate win, which by the way coming from a US president serves only to legitimize his fraudulent election and dispirit his protesters, you haven’t been paying any attention to what’s been going on in Washington the past three years.
