Vladimir Zhirinovsky takes the prize for the oddest assessment of Barack Obama yet:
Barack Obama is the “American Gorbachev” who will ultimately destroy the United States, militant Russian nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky said on Tuesday. Credited in the West for leading the former Soviet Union away from Cold War confrontation, Mikhail Gorbachev, now 77, is vilified by many at home for presiding over the collapse of the Soviet Union and ushering in harsh economic reforms. “Obama, he is the American Gorbachev, he will destroy America, it will not be rebuilt,” Zhirinovsky said at a meeting of the ultra-nationalist party he founded, according to Russian news agency Interfax.
It’s way too early to speculate on the 2012 race, but I have to imagine that Obama would have an awfully tough time winning a second term if he goes down the road Zhirinovsky predicts.
