Parker: Vladimir Putin, like everybody else, wants respect

If immigration boiled your blood, you might have seen a Facebook ad featuring a “No Invaders Allowed” sign. Or, if racism wasn’t far from your heart, you might have seen a flag-draped coffin with the words, “Another gruesome attack on police by a (Black Lives Matter) movement activist.” If you believed that a Hillary Clinton victory would lead to a godless society, you might have seen an ad depicting Jesus arm-wrestling Satan: “If I win Clinton Wins!; Jesus: Not if I can help it!”

Without leaving his chair, Putin could penetrate American psyches, reinforce biases and excite tempers in sufficient numbers to create a zeitgeist — or, preferably, a mob. He doubtless savored the taste of such power.

While true that Putin strenuously dislikes Clinton, it’s not clear whether he cared about Trump one way or the other. A Russian conspiracy? Sure, but it looks increasingly likely that, except for some amateur-hour attempts by Trump’s people to get dirt on Clinton, the conspiracy was mostly among Russians.

Meanwhile, the Sturm und Drang of Americans against Russia has a reflexive feel to it.

“Hating Russia is like riding a bicycle,” laughs Nina Khrushcheva, great-granddaughter of former Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and international affairs professor at the New School in New York. She has argued since Trump’s election that Russia was trying to reveal America’s weakness, as well as demonstrate how easily Putin could exert his power without having to leverage anything.

Don’t stop me if you’ve heard this before, but a story told to me by President George W. Bush bears repeating. Putin had invited Bush to Russia following his own visit to Crawford, Texas.

Putin had noticed the Bush family’s Scottish Terrier and wanted to show the American president his own dog. As Bush recounted, a gigantic beast (a Labrador) came galloping toward him and began circling him. After a few laps, Putin smiled and said, “Bigger, tougher, stronger, faster, meaner than Barney.”

Bush grasped that Putin hungered for respect, that he desired to be recognized as a power equal to, if not greater than, Bush. Though Bush granted Putin respect-with-distrust, his successor did not.

President Obama’s dismissiveness toward Putin, combined with Clinton’s condemnation of Russian elections as secretary of state, likely gave Putin the impetus to fight back in his own way.

Boastful hubris

From Khrushcheva’s perspective, Putin doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong. As for everyday Russians, they find this all rather amusing. Khrushcheva notes that her former countrymen either love or hate America, with little light in between. Overwhelmingly, however, they fail to see why Americans bask in their storied exceptionalism. Many countries have seen us lie and interfere with their affairs. They’ve seen us invade nations and install military bases. Our ebullient pride in the supremacy of our goodness can be viewed by others as boastful hubris. At the end of the day, everybody wants respect, none more, apparently, than dictators and unduly elected presidents like Putin.

Warily, we observe that they’ll do most anything to get it.