It seems that strong US foreign policy rhetoric regarding Russia is not finding itself well received. A reporter at Russian newspaper Kommersant believes that Russians observing the US election debates this week would likely have been “greatly disappointed” by Barack Obama’s most recent stance. When questioned about his stance on Russia during a television debate, Obama criticized the Bush administration for being “too soft with Russia”, and said: “Just think back to the beginning of President Bush’s administration when he said — you know, he met with Putin, looked into his eyes and saw his soul, and figured he could do business with him. He then proceeded to neglect our relationship with Russia at a time when Putin was strangling any opposition in the country when he was consolidating power.”