The Russian government under Vladimir Putin has amassed so much central authority that the power-grab may undermine Moscow’s commitment to democracy, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday. "In any country, if you don’t have countervailing institutions, the power of any one president is problematic for democratic development," Rice told reporters after meeting with human-rights activists. "I think there is too much concentration of power in the Kremlin. I have told the Russians that. Everybody has doubts about the full independence of the judiciary. There are clearly questions about the independence of the electronic media and there are, I think, questions about the strength of the Duma," said Rice, referring to the Russian parliament.
I still like Condi in spite of the fact that she’s done some pretty horrid things [like ignore a memo that said an attack from al Qaeda was imminent right before 9/11]. Maybe I’m a sucker for a nice smile. Mostly, I think that had she been attached to a rational Administration, she might have done right things. She’s not, and she hasn’t, but I at least see her as capable of doing right-thinking things if given a chance.
But sometimes I wonder about her perceptiveness. It’s hard to imagine that she could make this statement without seeing the extreme irony of what she’s saying. Lets edit what she said only slightly, "In any country, if you don’t have countervailing institutions, the power of any one president is problematic for democratic development. I think there is too much concentration of power in the White House. I have told the Administration that. Everybody has doubts about the full independence of the judiciary. There are clearly questions about the independence of the electronic media and there are, I think, questions about the strength of Congress."
Hello! Is anyone home?
haha!! I just saw this. Great minds think alike as I picked up this quote for my blog too. Now if she only saw the irony as we do! If only…