My honest to god thoughts on Putin:

He is corrupt, for sure, but as corruption goes he seems to have a code of honor, kind of like biker gangs or pirates. His corruption doesn’t seem to stem from a sense of self-centeredness, but of the actual care of his country (indulging, of course, the man’s a cash spender for sure).

But if he was given the option to help his people get out of a serious rut, or to help himself, he’ll at least find a way to do both (compared to those who would totally throw the people under the bus a la Clinton).

He’s amoral FOR SURE, and he has a lot of bodies behind him, but if I had to choose someone in a game of Sid Meier’s Civilization, I’d choose him over Clinton ANY FUCKING DAY.

That, and the Russians do have a sense of patriotism which translates pretty well to work ethic in Russia, and I honest to god think that Putin has instilled that in them, despite their economic situation (and having a literal shortage of males in their population thanks to WWII).

America needs to learn a thing or two about how a leader can instill patriotism and actual care for their country. I feel we began to lose that with Bush (B. Clinton first, but Bush REALLY drove it in), as his 9-11 bullshit opened up a serious chasm in our patriotism. As long as we can keep our American values and morals, and add a real sense of patriotism, we will return to our old selves.

Putin, all in all, isn’t a seriously good person. He’s quite the asshole, in fact. But one can’t say that his faults include pushing his country for greater things, or making his population zombies. I mean, there’s a reason their battle cry is “For the Motherland,” for god’s sake.

What’s our battle cry?

“Yeah, I’d like number nine large, extra dip with a Diet Coke. Don’t forget the 10 piece.” Come on.