A Blank-Faced Man cannot Derive the Thoughts of Another

Political Animal finds a nugget.

Remember that three years ago, Bush said in regard to Pooty-Poot:

The body language between the two appeared genuinely comfortable. Bush said the talks never digressed into "diplomatic chit chat" and that during the talks he took a measure of Putin's soul, finding the Russian leaders "straight-forward and trustworthy."

A true devotee of democracy (much like Bush, but I digress) Pooty has gone down the tyranny path:

President Vladimir Putin announced plans Monday for a "radically restructured" political system that would bolster his power by ending the popular election of governors and independent lawmakers, moves he portrayed as a response to this month's deadly seizure of a Russian school.

Under his plan, Putin would appoint all governors to create a "single chain of command" and allow Russians to vote only for political parties rather than specific candidates in parliamentary elections. Putin characterized the changes as enhancing national cohesion in the face of a terrorist threat, while critics called them another step toward restoring the tyranny of the state 13 years after the fall of the Soviet Union...

...His plans must go through parliament, but the Kremlin controls more than two-thirds of the legislature directly and two other political parties quickly endorsed the ideas. Even the governors, who could lose their jobs, surrendered, either welcoming the plans or remaining silent.

"It's the beginning of a constitutional coup d'etat," said Sergei Mitrokhin, a former parliamentary leader from the liberal Yabloko party. "It's a step toward dictatorship."

Somebody in the Bush White House is looking on in admiration, I am sure.

GOV. GEORGE W. BUSH (R-TX), PRESIDENT-ELECT: I told all four that there were going to be some times where we don't agree with each other. But that's OK. If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator.