Emily Post did not offer any guidance on how to respond when someone repeatedly compares you to Adolf Hitler, but making weird comments about their gender probably isn't the best strategy. (Particularly when they're about to embark on a book tour, and would love to discuss their efforts to break the glass ceiling.) However, that's exactly what Vladimir Putin did when asked about Hillary Clinton's remark that the Russian president's actions in Ukraine sound familiar because, "it’s what Hitler did back in the '30s." "It’s better not to argue with women," Putin told France's Radio Europe1 this week. "But Ms. Clinton has never been too graceful in her statements."
According to an English transcript posted on the Kremlin's website, the Russian president noted that he has always had "cordial conversations" with Clinton at international events. Then he added another dose of sexism. "When people push boundaries too far, it’s not because they are strong but because they are weak," he said. "But maybe weakness is not the worst quality for a woman."
Putin didn't explain what the worst quality for a woman is, though we'd say being seen as Hitler-like is up there for either gender.
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