Bush’s mixed messages on freedom

As Bush promotes the spread of freedom and liberty throughout the Middle East, his continued support of Russia — which is being transformed by Vladimir Putin into an authoritarian state — remains a contradiction.
Fred Hiatt writes of Putin in a column for The Washington Post: “This is the man whom Bush will visit in July when Putin hosts a Group of Eight meeting in St. Petersburg. There will be fine photo opportunities in repainted czarist palaces, and the message Putin wants to send his subjects will be clear: I am a czar, and the leaders of the world’s democracies do not care; they accept me. The question for Bush is whether he is happy to help Putin send that message.”
Posted by Melissa Cooley