Did Putin see Bush as a more worthy opponent than Obama?
First Putin has little to no respect for any Western political figure. Putin had more respect for Bush than he does Obama, because Bush was not a pushover to him. like in 2007 Bush installed missile shields in Poland, Russia got angry over it, Bush did not care if they got mad and put more missile defense shields in Europe. In 2008 when Russia invaded Georgia, Bush strongly condemned Russia's invasion of Georgia and got Putin and Dmitri Medvedev to withdraw Russian forces from Georgia. Obama took down our missile shields in Europe to make Russia happy, and got nothing in return. Russia invades Ukraine, Obama does not do anything to get Russia to withdraw it's forces in Ukraine, nor does he stand up to Putin. Putin has no respect for Obama, because he's weak and a pushover, Bush gave Putin a hell of a hard time in geopolitics.
Who do you think would win in a fist fight between Obama and Putin?
In what context? Bare knuckles? If so stupid question but likely ex KGB ex military Putin. Russian culture places great stock in the physical brutality of their leaders. Of course all the propaganda if Russia regarding putin's physicality may simply be hiding an old sick man. Who knows. But the reality is Putin apparently is prepared to use violence to achieve his goals while professor Obama takes more measured approaches to achieving goals. Unfortunately history has shown the most violent is most often the eventual victor. Which then often begs the question "what did they win" when the result is typically another on civilization and continued chaos. (Ukraine for Russia and Iraq for the us are examples)
Who is tougher - Putin or Obama and can Russia match the USA in military power?
In the ability to render the planet unlivable, the two countries are pretty much on par. Otherwise, US is at least 10x stronger in projecting power militarily - as 10% of US force can achieve more against a third party than all of Russia's military. It is universally accepted that US is stronger than the rest of the world combined. I think Putin is tougher: MA vs Basketball, KGB training. You don't need your elected leader to be tough though - you need your leader to work for you to provide a safe, predictable space, for you to live and prosper within. Say our current PM is an ultra-fit former amateur boxer, but before we had an unfit lady, before the guy who's only sport he excelled in was debating, and before him the guy who wasn't that bad in walking in moderate pace around a couple of blocks. While I have some disagreements with some of them, any one of them will get my vote without thinking if Putin is another one running.
Ar you concerned that if Trump loses in 2020 there will not be a peaceful transition of power?
Trump incites violence now so it can only get worse if he knows he'll get the Boot. If Trump knows he has to go it will be like a scorched earth retreat, destroying as much as he possibly can on the way out. Putin will Love that.
What do you think President Putin must have thought of President Trump's comment that "No one has ever been tougher on Russia than me?"
Here’s the problem, there is a massive gap between the actual policies of the U.S. and the rhetoric of Trump.It is undeniably true that tougher sanctions have been imposed on the Russians since the election. The fact that they originated in Congress, Trump only signed them reluctantly and dragged his feet in implementing them is also undeniable.Trump’s two greatest acts against Russia were his cruise missile attack against S Bashar al-Assad in Syria who is a Russian ally, and his approval of lethal arms sales to Ukraine. In both cases, Trump did do more than Obama although the missile strike was a one-off and so far, the U.S. has sold only a few anti-tank missiles and launchers to the Ukraine.Having said, that, the rhetoric of Donald Trump can be considered conciliatory at best and obsequious at worst. He has praised Putin, said that he believes him over U.S. intelligence, agrees with Putin that the media is an enemy, excused Putin for the deaths of opponents and journalists, proclaimed that he fired his FBI Director to improve relations with Russia, gave Russians intelligence of another ally, etc. No objective examination of Trump’s public statements about Russia in general and Putin in particular can doubt that Trump views Putin positively and anything other than gently.Trump likes to proclaim how much tougher he is than Obama was. This, too requires some examination. Trump put Obama in a no-win position during the election. By declaring that he (Trump) would not necessarily accept the results of the election if he lost, it made almost impossible for the Obama Administration to implement the types of investigation and sanctions that he might otherwise have enacted because Trump would use it as “proof” that the FBI, CIA, etc. were conspiring against him. Obama feared that such a situation might rip the fabric of American society that Obama dreaded. I suspect that without that consideration, Obama would have reacted far stronger than he did and to which Trump would certainly object.
Who do you think could become a more successful actor in Hollywood, Putin or Obama, if they went into acting?
Easily Obama. He is a charmer. You have to be a charmer to win the US Presidential elections. Whether a given US President is much more than a charmer, it depends. Sometimes. Not a job requirement. Putin is shy, small-built, old and not particularly great looking. You can often see him mumbling and not knowing where to put his hands. Not a Hollywood type. If you want to see what Putin looks like in a limelight, here you go:Edit: I think Putin would fair better than Obama on MosFilm though, or in any of Moscow's 200 theaters. Mosfilm, at its best, is much more sophisticated and psychological, its actors are trained in Stanislavsky acting school which stresses being the character, feeling its feelings, not acting per se. That's why Russian movies feature a lot of closeups, because Russians enjoy seeing every muscle on the actor's face, especially the eyes. Putin's enemies have said that Putin is particularly good at having very different approaches to different people, a skill seriously taught at KGB school and not that different from deep psychological acting.I voted Obama, but even then I was concerned with his poker face and Ken (Barbie's dream man) smile. I don't see much expression in his eyes. With Putin on the other hand, you see a lot of mimics, and on a very rare occasion when his eyes are honest, you can see that, too, which is kind of odd for a politician.