What the Russians thought of Obama

Thursday, October 8th, 2009 | Obama and the Dems | No Comments

I recently came across a survey from the Levada Center in Russia. One of the questions that was asked right before the US presidential vote was:

“What are your feelings towards the victory of Barack Obama, a representative of the African American minority, in the US presidential elections?”

Here were the options and results (by%):
Admiration 5
Content 15
Surprise 16
Envy 0,4
Irritation 2
Indignation 1
No special feelings 57
Not sure 3
(N=1600)

The categories make for a fun list. Especially since we don’t often get to see the the options of “envy” or “indignation” on political surveys.

In Russian:
Восхищение 5
Удовлетворение 15
Удивление 16
Зависть 0,4
Раздражение 2
Возмущение 1
Никаких особых чувств 57
Затруднились ответить 3

Tags: election, Obama, Russia, vote

Is McCain misguided on missile defense?

Friday, September 18th, 2009 | Republicans | No Comments

This quote is from Voice of America News:

U.S. Republican Senator John McCain calls the change “seriously misguided.” He said the decision is a step backwards at a time when eastern European countries are increasingly wary of what he calls “renewed Russian adventurism.”

Was any one (except McCain) ever expecting that the missile defense system would have stopped a barrage of Russian missiles?  Its ostensible purpose was to defend against possible Iranian missiles — a nation that would have significantly less fire power than Russia.

Tags: Iran, McCain, missile defence, Russia