Psalehesost
The Living Force
herondancer said:So maybe the C's observation that "he's the best we've got so far" could mean that Putin may not have the noblest intentions in his strategy, but his actions may still restrain and confound the goals of the Evil Empire. Faust's observation about intending evil and having it work for good may apply here.
I'd still like to think Putin is a decent sort of chap. Time will tell I guess.
It's not necessarily so black and white. The impression I've got is that Putin clearly has ideals - he cares for other things than greed. He seems to be quite the nationalist and to see himself in large part as "the solution" to Russia's troubles. So I don't think he intends to do evil, nor that's he's particularly evil. He doesn't necessarily have the whole banana, and from information in older threads, he may have some deep-seated emotional issues. But in comparison to psychopaths, he's the picture of healthy mentality, and he's got the intelligence and resources to present a significant opposition.
He's taking on an awful and tricky situation with competence - perhaps not with the kind of end-goal we would like to see, but definitely with the goal of something that we would also recognize as a better world. The point here is, when things are so screwed up as they are, any realistic vision of something better will make for an improvement if brought competently towards reality. And so, he does good - a hero by contrast with the status quo, if you will. OSIT.