During the 2005 summit meeting with President Bush at Bratislava in Slovakia, Putin made a comment about Bush having “fired” a reporter. The gaffe revealed that Putin did not understand that the Western press was independent of the federal government, and capable of directing egregious insults at elected or appointed officials with no fear of retaliation.
As President of Russia, Putin clearly had no idea of a truly free press, and could not imagine a president who was not empowered to punish or discipline the news media. President Bush recalls the moment:
It dawned on me what he was referring to. “Vladimir, are you talking about Dan Rather?” I asked. He said he was. I said, “I strongly suggest you not say that in public. The American people will think you don’t understand our system.”
At the time, CBS News had fired, or demanded a resignation from, Dan Rather, a news anchor who had broadcast a story based on what later turned out to be forged documents. CBS News accused Rather of failing to use due diligence in researching his sources.
Putin had nearly total control on the Russian press, and could not imagine the attacks which presidents regularly endure from the media in the United States.
