Reprinted from Smirking Chimp
Anyone who follows the news regularly, knows that the media has done everything in its power to smear Vladimir Putin and to demonize him as a tyrant and a thug. Fortunately, most people aren't buying it.
Yes, I've seen the polls that say that Putin and Russia are viewed "less favorably" than they were prior to the crisis in Ukraine. In fact, here's a clip from a recent PEW survey which seems to prove that I'm wrong:
"Across the 44 countries surveyed, a median percentage of 43% have unfavorable opinions of Russia, compared with 34% who are positive.
"Negative ratings of Russia have increased significantly since 2013 in 20 of the 36 countries surveyed...
"Americans and Europeans in particular have soured on Russia over the past 12 months. More than six-in-ten in Poland, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, the U.S. and the UK have an unfavorable image of Russia. And in all but one of these countries negative reviews are up by double digits since last year, including by 29 percentage points in the U.S., 27 points in Poland, 24 points in the UK and 23 points in Spain." (Russia's Global Image Negative amid Crisis in Ukraine: Americans' and Europeans' Views Sour Dramatically, PEW Research)
These results strongly suggest that the public blames Moscow for the fighting in Ukraine and (presumably) agrees with the prevailing story-line that Putin is a vicious aggressor who seized Crimea in order to rebuild the Soviet Empire. The problem with the PEW survey is that the results are based on random samples of nationwide face-to-face or telephone interviews.
Why is that a problem?
It's a problem because the man-on-the-street hasn't the foggiest idea of what's going on in Ukraine. All he knows is what he's heard on TV. So, naturally, when he's asked to offer his opinion on the matter, he's going to regurgitate some variation of the official version, which is that Putin is responsible.
But try asking someone who's actually been following events in Ukraine that same question, and you're going to get an entirely different answer. Among the people who follow the daily developments in Ukraine, roughly two out of three support the Russian position. This isn't something you're going to find in the survey data, but if you take the time to comb the comments lines in the international media, you'll see what I'm saying is true.
I hadn't figured this out until last week's G-20 Summit in Brisbane when Canada's PM Stephen Harper brusquely greeted Putin saying, "I guess I'll shake your hand, but I only have one thing to say to you: you need to get out of Ukraine."
The incident immediately became headline news around the world as journalists for all the major media heaped praise on Harper for courageously "shirt-fronting" the dastardly Putin. What was left out in the media's account of the exchange, was Putin's crisp retort, which was, "Unfortunately it is impossible, (for us to leave Ukraine) because we are not there."
Touche. As you might expect, Putin's response did not fit with the media's narrative, so it was scrubbed from the coverage altogether.
The Harper incident was a particularly big deal in Canada where all the newspapers ran gushing articles lauding the prime minister for his righteousness and fortitude. Oddly enough, however, only a small percentage of the people who commented on the dust-up, saw Harper as the hero. Here's a few samples of what ordinary people had to say. This is from BobsOpinion:
"Harper embarrasses Canadians again on the international stage. It will take years for Canadians to re-build our international relationships and to re-build our reputation."
This comment is from redondex:
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