Man. Some of the stuff Putin is saying, I can totally understand, and am sort of sympathetic to: the feeling hurt that the Soviet Union sort of "peacefully" collapsed, and went away, and that their leaders did this, thinking Russia was going to get tons of help, not be encroached upon, and even be sort of enthusiastically invited into the fold with open arms? That that's what they felt, and they now feel that's not what happened? That, instead, it's clear that NATO/The West is still treating them as a threat, and expanding towards them? That stuff is sympathetic.

The part where he is saying that the main goal for this war now is "Denazification"? Come on. Get the fuck out of here. There is zero way that Russia is afraid of like - what - a fourth reich forming in the Ukraine? That that's the main reason for the fighting here? Two years of war to stop Nazis, and he's saying that successful denazification is the only condition for ending this?

In any event, it's absolutely ridiculous that this guy - the leader of a big country like Russia - a country that clearly has the potential to cause big problems for the world (they are doing it right now), clearly has all these grievances (whether or not they are legitimate or not), and Tucker fucking Carlson is the guy that has to go there to air all this out. What are our fucking politicians doing? What is the fucking media doing? Why wouldn't they be holding those politicians feet to the fire? Why is it up to basically an independent guy to do all their jobs?