Putin seeks job with Daily Show...

There's no denying that Vlad Putin is a pretty funny guy, in a bitter bitter Russian way.

Of course it's easy to be funny when you're getting your material from the US government.

In an interview with Today Show's Matt Lauer, Putin, when asked about VP Cheney's comments that Russia was, "cracking down on religious and political rights and of using its energy reserves as "tools of intimidation or blackmail." Putin retorted,

"I think the statements of your vice president of this sort are the same as an unsuccessful hunting shot. It's pretty much the same."

This isn't the first time Putin's been able to deflect US criticism of his policies by commenting on the American state. During a 60 Minutes interview a year ago(http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/05/06/60minutes/main693422_page2.shtml), Mike Wallace asked Putin whether his policy of appointing regional governors was un-democratic. Putin's response:

"In the United States, you first elect the electors and then they vote for the presidential candidates. In Russia, the president is elected through the direct vote of the whole population -- that might be even more democratic...And you have other problems in your elections. Four years ago, your presidential election was decided by the court. But we're not going to poke our nose into your democratic system because that's up to the American people."

Russia correctly criticizing US democracy. Now that's so funny I want to commit an unsuccessful hunting shot to my face.