re: I want Putin to win but not hurt Obama in doing it.

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Putin as a former member of the communist party

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I really don't think that's relevent as I don't believe Putin is driven by ideology as much as he's driven by ego. He would make himself Tsar as soon as General Secretary.

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I agree that the former USSR with the exception of the Baltics--since they were invaded in 1940 and independent from 1917 to 1940--should be under a Russian sphere of influence. There is no reason for Russia and the US to be enemies.

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I really don't disagree with the sentiment here.

There seems to be a lot of assumptions in this thread that a Putin government is a Soviet one. I see it more of just a gangsterism. And imo the Ukraine government wasn't exactly a paragon of ethics.

This idea that Russia is our enemy leads to a knees-jerk reaction to any militarism on their part.