This is one of the most interesting interviews I've seen all year.
It seems that the former chess champion Gary Kasparov is running for the Russian presidency against Putin's goons, and Bill Maher had him on his HBO Real Time show last week, with Hardball's Chris Matthews on the panel. full transcript
After briefly discussing the potential for personal danger that he faces as an opposition candidate Kasparov delivers his opinions on a range of political issues.
What is amazing is his clarity and the unambiguous super intelligent positions that he takes. His honesty and bravery had everyone in awe.
If you haven't seen this clip yet, I would highly recommend that you watch and consider Kasparov's words.
MAHER: But, when you look at what’s going on in Russia, Putin has a very high approval rating. I mean, there is something in the—
KASPAROV: [overlapping] How – how do you know? [laughter] [applause] I mean, are you seriously – are you relying on the polling results in a police state? I – I think that with the same tight control of media and the pervasive security force, I believe Bush and Cheney could enjoy the same approval rating here. [laughter] [applause] [cheers]
On the Russian's tendency to love "strong men..."
MAHER: [overlapping] But, don’t you think – but, come on, there is something in the Russian soul that loves a strong man. I mean, Yeltsin did not—
KASPAROV: [overlapping] No, no, no. Wait-wait-wait. This is total nonsense. You know, it’s just – it’s refuted by history. If you look, for instance, at two Koreas. You have North Korea, is just one big concentration camp; and South Korea, it’s a flourishing market economy and democracy. And it’s the same people.
You can look at Taiwan and China. And I could give many other examples. For instance, East Germany and West Germany 25 years ago. I don’t think there’s anything in the national soul that makes some people are not ready for democracy and some are...fitting for this quality. [applause] And when I look at the – at this administration that is trying to build democracy in Iraq at the expense of democracy in Russia, I got confused. [applause]
On on Bush's stupidity...
MAHER: [overlapping]—I thought, you know, here, once again, President Bush has succeeded in uniting our enemies and dividing our friends. You’ve got to admit, at least your guy isn’t stupid. [laughter]
KASPAROV: Yeah, I – I don’t think it makes me feel comfortable just accepting the fact that he outplayed your guy. [laughter] [applause] [cheers]
On the price of oil...
KASPAROV: ...because Putin has only one item in his due political agenda. He needs high oil prices. And tension in the Middle East helps him to keep the oil prices all-time high.
MAHER: Right.
KASPAROV: So that’s why he sells nuclear technology to Iran; he sells missiles to Hezbollah and Hamas via Syria, because it helps Putin to stay in power. If the oil price goes down, Putin regime goes down. And I’m surprised that White House didn’t recognize it in time. [laughter] [applause]
On torture, wiretapping and "democracy..."
MAHER: ... When you see America wiretapping and torturing and basically doing the things the Soviets used to do, what goes through your mind?
KASPAROV: Look, I don’t think it’s about sad events that you just described, because I think that America had sad stories in the past as well. But, in seventies and eighties, America looked as a hope for oppressed people in the communist world. Well, now, America, that is applying double standards to different countries in the world, lost its credibility. And that’s bad news for all of us, because it was a stronghold for democracy. And now, it’s just a country which, according to many, is using democracy as a due political tool to promote its own interests. Which is working against us in Russia and elsewhere. [applause]
This is the most interesting point of the interview. What Kasparov is saying is that although the United States doesn't deserve the fabled truth, justice and the American way history that we all learned in gradeschool, we did have a reputation, deserved or not, in the later part of the 20th century that was a beacon for those struggling against totalitarian regimes all over the world. Now, that fantasy has been destroyed, and the world is much worse off for it.
Here, Kasparov may have put his finger on the most damning indictment against the Bush legacy of them all. Years from now when we look back on the damage Bush did to the world, we will see that he exposed the myth of democracy. We will see clearly that the wholesale aggregation of power by evil committed men is not the sole province of "undemocratic" nations. All nations are in fact nations of men and not laws. As much as we would wish otherwise a constitution is just words on paper, and it is men who give those words meaning and force.
Where once there was hope for a framework for a just society, now it is clear that it is just the rule of the jungle, and despite our grade school history lessons, it was always so. That will be the sad history of Bush.
Well, back to the show. What do you think Maher and the gang thought?
MAHER: All right, Chess Master. I give. You win. Thank you, Garry Kasparov. Very interesting.
KASPAROV: Thank you, Bill.
MAHER: He’s something, huh?
MATTHEWS: He’s great!
MAHER: He is great. Why can’t he run in the Iowa...?
MATTHEWS: He ought to be – do you ever get the feeling that they’re playing chess and we’re playing checkers? [laughter]
MAHER: Yeah.
MATTHEWS: They are so far – he’s so far – that was sophisticated, and this audience was listening to every word. Our guys never get to that level of sophistication.
MAHER: Right.
MATTHEWS: They talk down to us.
MAHER: Right.
MATTHEWS: You’ve got to follow a guy like him, because you want to. [applause] [cheers]
MAHER: And he has to fight just to run, not just to win.
MATTHEWS: And he’s thinking in Russian! He’s thinking in Russian and talking to us in another language! Imagine one of our guys talking in a foreign language at that level of sophistication. [laughter]
