Putin and Chicago Politics

I just read an article by Peter Leonard (Russia train journey shows discontent with Putin) for the AP. This was an article about a train trip across Russia where he discussed the politics of Putin with several Russian passengers.

Very interesting.

Perhaps most interesting was the reporting at the end of the article where he described the various actions under Putin. Controlled media, jailed political enemies, rigged elections, and a clampdown on free media. Except for the controlled media, it sounds like politics in Chicago. Rahm Emanuel and Richard Daley would be much at ease there. This is not to say that they support legislation to limit the free press, only that they know how to favorably advance their views through favorable reporters.

The good news is that Chicago politics has very little sway outside of Illinois as Mr. Obama is discovering.