Edwards faces rare Russia question

[sniffa]

Fairfield, Ia. – America needs to take careful measures to ensure that Russia does not wind up joining China to form a powerful partnership that could threaten the west, presidential candidate John Edwards said today.

Edwards criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he has taken the country away from democracy. “Russia is not a democracy, by any possible measure now,” he said. “He’s squashed opposition parties, he controls the media, he rules the country with an iron hand out of the Kremlin. And now it’s clear that his hand-picked successor is going to take his place, and he’s going to continue being the puppeteer, behind the scenes, running the country.”

Edwards was answering a rare voter question about Russian. He made a joking reference to a President Bush declaration that he knew he could work with Putin after looking into his eyes.

“A former KGB agent is not someone you can look in his eyes and see his soul,” he said to laughter.

Edwards said the United States should use economic and political pressure to urge Russia to return to a democratic path. The way it’s going, it is becoming further and further from America on basic values, and growing closer to China, he said.

If that continues, those two American rivals could eventually form a de facto partnership that would threaten the United States and other western democracies. “That would be very unhealthy over the long term to our capacity to be able to solve the world’s problems.”

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080102/NEWS/80102017/1001/NEWS

[Yael]

1. "I looked into his eyes and I saw Lucifer" -- Bill Maher

I laugh every time I see that clip. :D

[Horse with no Name]

2. The issue that shouldn't be danced around

is that GWB's weinie wagging has forced these other countries to batten down the hatches before Georgie tried to bring them some democracy-by-the-gun-barrel.
The most unholy of alliances--Russia, China, Iran--does threaten the west and we can thank GWB for it.
This is why we need a President who will prosecute these bastards so that the rest of the world knows we are NOT "them". Then and only then, perhaps they will "stand down".

[YankmeCrankme]

3. What is it with these candidates?

I realize it was a question on Russia, but how about returning the US back to the democratic path first. What are you going to do to stop us from moving farther and farther away from American values and democracy? How about we lead by example first, instead of through "economic and political pressure" to make countries do what we want them to do? Maybe look at why a Russia and China, who historically have been rivals, would form a partnership as a response to the US?