Far from it. He's probably the brightest current head-of-state of any major country-Putin didn't go to Yale or Harvard, but he graduated from Russia's school of hard knocks (the KGB) with a PhD in political hardball.
SUBJECT: Political Science 301 (Seminar)
Course Description: As Chirac, Blair and Bush see the lowest ratings of their long political careers and face the harshest criticism ever in the twilight years of their political service, President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin stands in stark contrast, with over a 70% approval rating. Yes, Pootie-Poot is still the undisputed political hero of Russia. Bush should stop looking into his soul, and instead look into his political playbook. You know what he'd find? That he doesn't understand a single f***ing word. Indeed, Putin's high ratings seem to rise with the level of criticism he gets from the West for being undemocratic.
Schooling Grade: A+. This is one lesson the West can't possibly learn. It's called "giving the people what they want. No matter how savage."
-Exile Magazine
