Bush tells Putin to follow Iraq's model of democracy

I didn't see this one posted before, so there it is:

During a joint news conference Saturday in St. Petersburg, Bush said he raised concerns about democracy in Russia during a frank discussion with the Russian leader.

"I talked about my desire to promote institutional change in parts of the world, like Iraq where there's a free press and free religion, and I told him that a lot of people in our country would hope that Russia would do the same," Bush said.

To that, Putin replied, "We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy that they have in Iraq, quite honestly."

CNN

There is also a video of Putin's reaction.

I myself had to laugh at that. I have to rate this one among the top 10 Bushisms... But on the serious note, how untactful can you be? Aren't there better examples for democracy than Iraq if you want to make this point?! i have a friend in Russia who told me that on their national TV ORT, they made quite a lot of fun of Mr. Bush about this comment and even implied he was an embarassment to the US. I agree, but knowing there are many Bush supporters on this board, i would like to hear their take on the political meaning of this comment...

ROFLMFAO!!!!1

Now.... THATS FUNNY!!!!

Bushism ;-P

That was by far a horribly stupid thing to say.

Now that is as funny as Bush's comment at the G8 where he forgot the mike was on and told Blair that putting pressure on Syria to stop Hezbollah would help stop this sh*t.....................

I cant really hate Bush. Anyone this stupid and amuzing cant really be evil. Its a shame he is in the Oval Office instead of a zoo or circus where hed be far more entertaining.

The title of this thread is simply not true.

If you read the article, it was a witty response from Putin to talk about Iraq in response to Bush saying Russia should become more democratic.


[edit on 7/18/2006 by djohnsto77]

The point that Putin was trying to get across with this comeback and throughout the G8, was that US should not interfere in the building of Russia's democracy, because interference would create far more problems for both- US and the host country (like Iraq). And in order for US to go around installing democracies around the world, why not fix its democracy first? Putin is hinting that Russia will absolutely not allow any US interference (open or covert) in its politics.

Originally posted by djohnsto77
The title of this thread is simply not true.

If you read the article, it was a witty response from Putin to talk about Iraq in response to Bush saying Russia should become more democratic.


[edit on 7/18/2006 by djohnsto77]

I do not see how the title of the thread is not true. What he said is:

"I talked about my desire to promote institutional change in parts of the world, like Iraq where there's a free press and free religion, and I told him that a lot of people in our country would hope that Russia would do the same," Bush said.

Or maybe I should have rephrased itto something like that, " Bush recommends an institutional change in Russia similar to the one done in Iraq"? If Bush wanted to emphasize his desire to see a better democracy in Russia, I am sure he could have phrased himself much better.

Skadi_the_Evil_Elf, I agree with you 100%. Anybody as stupid as Bush, cannot be an evil mastermind. The sad thing is that such simple people are the easiest to manipulate. I guess that is why he is in the White House...