Co-Pilot Putin! A Role Model for The One?!!!

Just the ticket to prop up sagging popularity (Is it a competition) My Way News:

He took off Tuesday in a Be-200 firefighting plane and then moved into the copilot's seat. Television footage showed him pushing a button to unleash water on blazing forest fires about 120 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Moscow.

After hitting the button, Putin glanced toward the pilot and asked, "Was that OK?"

The response: "A direct hit!"

The stunt was classic Putin. In past years, he has copiloted a fighter jet, ridden a horse bare-chested in Siberia and descended to the bottom of Lake Baikal in a mini-sub. Just last month he drove a Harley Davidson motorcycle to a biker rally.

And our President Barack Obama test drives a Volt. More:

All of his exploits have been widely publicized on the national television networks, which are under government control. Russia holds its next presidential election in 2012, and Putin would be eligible to run.

Well, there's hope for our President yet. Still more:

Sergei Gordeichenko, the head of the Forestry Agency for the Moscow region, was fired on Tuesday, following criticism from the president that he had not cut short his summer vacation to tend to the crisis.

Medvedev himself was slow to interrupt his Black Sea vacation even as fires around Moscow grew worse, and, unlike Putin - who went out in jeans to meet with sobbing villagers and exhausted firefighters - mostly conferred with officials after his return.

I think Medvedev knows better than to compete. But we know The One already can kick butt on the golf course.

But really, Russia these days is essentially a third world country. Do we want to descend to this?

Related posts: Russian Mission, Putin, Bare-Chested Wonder