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Culture War Roundup for the week of February 24, 2025

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My image, as someone who had followed Ukrainian politics close enough to not have a particularly positive image of Zelensky before the invasion, is that when he was woken up and told that the Russians had started a full-scale invasion instead of a more limited op that they had probably been expecting, he probably freaked out a bit and then finally went "Ahh, shit, I have to 100 % commit to an image of a great wartime leader now, don't I?" and then did exactly that. Since he's an actor he found this relatively easy, and obviously when you act as something long enough there's less and less difference to being one, though it still doesn't make him a master tactician when he's committed to some military course of action instead of what the generals are suggesting.

Largely agree with this. In light of it, I wonder if something like that blowup wasnt inevitable. The image of the great wartime leader doesnt exactly gel with taking a deal where you accept you lost - and realistically, he will have to take territorial losses.