Babe the Blue Ox stopped by this week to watch a televised stream of Putin holding a press conference about why he’s invading Ukraine. We both just loved watching it. It’s just so much more sophisticated and interesting than anything you get here. And, I must say, it’s a good piece of rhetoric. See if for yourself here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ayu3Ecdbl0Q or read the transcripts courtesy of the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/transcript-putin-says-russia-will-protect-the-rights-of-russians-abroad/2014/03/18/432a1e60-ae99-11e3-a49e-76adc9210f19_story.html.

Think of Obama talking. No, really. Close your eyes for a moment and picture it. Can you imagine him actually getting into it like Putin does? Obama’s mired in DC hipster-American-pop-crypto speak. He speaks the language of JayZ and Beyonce, selfies and the NBA. Compare that to a leader who respects his audience enough to delve into history, use sophisticated logic, speak in metaphor, and in general, be intelligent. Intelligence in discourse gets my vote.