Some people are upset that Time Magazine has named Russian President (and soon to be Prime Minister when his Presidential term limit is up) Vladimir Putin as its “Man of the Year” for 2007.
While Pootie may be a monster hankering for a return to the good ol’ days of Stalin-like communist domination, you have to admit he has moxie. His economic and diplomatic clout with the Iranian/Muslim axis (he is, after all, building them a nuclear reactor) has once again made him a major player in a post-9/11 world, stoking the flames of Russian nationalism.
Then there was the press conference given by French President Nicolas Sarkozy immediately after a private meeting with Putin at a G-8 summit. People around the world wondered what Pootie did to the poor guy:
But more than anything, I think it was his relentless marketing campaign that put him over the top. I mean, can you really look at these shots and tell me this guy wasn’t working it? He even has a judo video coming out soon. I’m not kidding.
3 Comments
December 28, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Putin is a 6th Degree Black Belt in Judo. If he wasn’t in his mid-50’s I would love to see him in an MMA tournament. I could just hear it now:
“…and in the red corner, from Leningrad, weighing in at 205 lbs, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin!”
December 29, 2007 at 3:20 am
I wonder if Putin would have still gotten the nod had TIME been aware of the bizarre incident where he pulled a young boy’s shirt up and kissed his stomach?
Video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd2Z3nXnLD0
Wait, what am I thinking? TIME Magazine? It probably sealed the deal for them.
December 30, 2007 at 1:20 am
I remember commenting on his Michael Jackson like move when that happened. I bet there aren’t too many political satirists in Russia who were doing the same!