ltlee1 <ltlee1@hotmail.com> wrote:

"The issue came up during a White House briefing.

Journalists asked Kirby how he could comment on Putin's "re-election,"
to which he humorously implied the Russian elections would not be competitive.

"Well, this will be quite a race, won't it? That's all I can say about
it," replied the representative of the U.S. president's
administration."

https://news.yahoo.com/white-house-mocks-putins-2024-094400409.html

Can anyone explain?
Why a presidential race is competitive per se is a meaningful issue?

Let me paraphrase Henry Ford [A]: Russians can elect can elect any
president they like as long as it is Putin. All you can get is some
restraint in mocking "elections" with results not set by (or in favor
of) USA.

[A] https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Ford

"Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long
as it is black."
p. 72. Chapter IV, : Remark about the Model T in 1909; […]

--
A. Filip
| You've been telling me to relax all the way here, and now you're
| telling me just to be myself? (The Return of the Secaucus Seven)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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ltlee1 <ltlee1@hotmail.com> wrote:

On Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 10:07:52 PM UTC, A. Filip wrote:

ltlee1 wrote:

"The issue came up during a White House briefing.

Journalists asked Kirby how he could comment on Putin's "re-election,"
to which he humorously implied the Russian elections would not be
competitive.

"Well, this will be quite a race, won't it? That's all I can say about
it," replied the representative of the U.S. president's
administration."

https://news.yahoo.com/white-house-mocks-putins-2024-094400409.html

Can anyone explain?
Why a presidential race is competitive per se is a meaningful issue?

Let me paraphrase Henry Ford [A]: Russians can elect can elect any
president they like as long as it is Putin.

Let me rephrase Ford,
"Anyone can have a car painted any color that he wants. Well made
and revolutionary inexpensive Model-T, however, only comes in black."

Why do you really think Americans bought 15 million+ Model T Fords, a record until the 1970s just because Henry Ford's saying?

Where there is no choice say it straight.

All you can get is some restraint in mocking "elections" with results
not set by (or in favor of) USA.

If Kirby really knows election would produce less capable leaders in Russia because of competitive issue, he was not making the issue loud and clear.

Russian have no real chance to elect e.g. a leader with higher risk aversion." I would not elect Putin but I am not Russian.

Anyway: Is Russia more democratic than Saudi Kingdom? :-)

--
A. Filip
| To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.
| (Thomas Edison)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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ltlee1, <news:16a146da-f4b8-4cb6-9c15-4fc42676409bn@googlegroups.com>

"The issue came up during a White House briefing.

Journalists asked Kirby how he could comment on Putin's "re-election," to which he humorously implied the Russian elections would not be
competitive.

"Well, this will be quite a race, won't it? That's all I can say about
it," replied the representative of the U.S. president's administration."

https://news.yahoo.com/white-house-mocks-putins-2024-094400409.html

Can anyone explain?
Why a presidential race is competitive per se is a meaningful issue?

There is a linguistic issue.

The term "(s)election" in it's very basic meaning means a choice from
several variants, implying them on about the same scale of significance
(hence 'competitive'). Otherwise, it's not a (s)election but some
another word should be used. The standard patch to solve the issue is
to add some certanly unchoosable variants, imagining them choosable.

Further, it leads to the RPG ("role-playing games") field.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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"Oleg Smirnov" <os333@netc.eu> wrote:

ltlee1, <news:16a146da-f4b8-4cb6-9c15-4fc42676409bn@googlegroups.com>

"The issue came up during a White House briefing.

Journalists asked Kirby how he could comment on Putin's "re-election," to
which he humorously implied the Russian elections would not be
competitive.

"Well, this will be quite a race, won't it? That's all I can say about
it," replied the representative of the U.S. president's administration."

https://news.yahoo.com/white-house-mocks-putins-2024-094400409.html

Can anyone explain?
Why a presidential race is competitive per se is a meaningful issue?

There is a linguistic issue.

The term "(s)election" in it's very basic meaning means a choice from
several variants, implying them on about the same scale of significance (hence 'competitive'). Otherwise, it's not a (s)election but some
another word should be used. The standard patch to solve the issue is
to add some certanly unchoosable variants, imagining them choosable.
[…]

<cynicism> Politically you can spin that Russian elections will be as democratic as third and forth term elections of Franklin Delano
Roosevelt. </cynicism>

--
A. Filip
| The modern child will answer you back before you've said anything.
| (Laurence J. Peter)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

ltlee1, <news:7a4c9b93-3c6c-4c52-a80a-75144d1c5104n@googlegroups.com>

On Sunday, December 10, 2023 at 2:08:09?PM UTC, Oleg Smirnov wrote:

Why a presidential race is competitive per se is a meaningful issue?

There is a linguistic issue.

The term "(s)election" in it's very basic meaning means a choice
from several variants, implying them on about the same scale of
significance (hence 'competitive'). Otherwise, it's not a
(s)election but some another word should be used. The standard
patch to solve the issue is to add some certanly unchoosable
variants, imagining them choosable.

(S)Election does imply some kind of choice. Election, however, does
not entail competitiveness. Else, the descriptive competitive not be
needed.

The both 'elect' & 'select' are based on Latin verb 'legere' with
slghtly different modification of meaning ('choose out' vs 'choose away/apart'). Choice means a deed to take one or few from several.
If there is one from one then it's not a choice. The word 'compete' etymologically also means a multiplicity (as do all Latin-derived
words with the 'com-' prefix). Thus "non-competitive election" is
an oxymoron while "competitive election" is just a tautology.

For Slavic languages, the etymology is about the same (although
Latin is not in play, but similar meanings go down to more primary
PIE meanings). How it's for Chinese, I don't know. And, of course,
it's always possible to redefine meanings of words any way one
likes, but then it would be not a natural language but a sophistry.

Notice nothing has been said about whether it's good or bad. It's
just logics built-in in natural language(s). What is socially good
or bad due to election or non-election would be another question.

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bmoore <bmoore@nyx.net> wrote:

[…]
Saudi Arabia is very undemocratic. So is Russia.

Is the difference insignificant?

--
| "It was a Roman who said it was sweet to die for one's country.
| The Greeks never said it was sweet to die for anything. They had
| no vital lies." (Edith Hamilton, "The Greek Way")

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A. Filip, <news:anfi+o9ohx4xjef-ncc2@wp.eu>

bmoore <bmoore@nyx.net> wrote:

Saudi Arabia is very undemocratic. So is Russia.

American zombies can only emit simple slogans.

Is the difference insignificant?

Polish zombies are way ahead.

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