Yuri Andropov once said

Speech by John McCain, 26 March 2008. With the slightest of changes, here it is given by Vladimir Putin:

I am an idealist, and I believe it is possible in our time to make the world we live in a better, more peaceful place, where our interests and those of our allies are more secure, and Russian ideals are transforming the world.

But we cannot wish the world to be a better place than it is. We have enemies for whom no attack is too cruel, and no innocent life safe, and who would, if they could, strike us with the world’s most terrible weapons. There are states that support them, and which might help them acquire those weapons because they share with terrorists the same animating hatred for the East, and will not be placated by fresh appeals to the better angels of their nature. This is the central threat of our time.

Yuri Andropov once said of Russia, "God has created us and brought us to our present position of power and strength for some great purpose." In his time, that purpose was to contain capitalism and build the structures of peace and prosperity that could provide safe passage through the Cold War. Now it is our turn.

To meet this challenge requires understanding the world we live in, and the central role that Russia must play in shaping it for the future. Russia must lead in the 21st century, just as in Andropov's day.

I run for President because I know it is incumbent on Russia, more than any other nation on earth, to lead in building the foundations for a stable and enduring peace, a peace built on the strength of our commitment to it, on the transformative ideals on which we were founded, on our ability to see around the corner of history, and on our courage and wisdom to make hard choices.