Vladimir Putin, the elected 3-time czar of Russia, announced that he will not seek a fourth term. In doing so, he dutifully tipped his hat to the Russian constitution, which forbids anyone to run for more than three terms.

Yet the former KGB wiz, while managing to present himself as likable, indicated that he would still remain a power in Russian politics.

"Despite the fact that I like my job, the constitution doesn't allow me to run a third time in a row," he said, while his supporters have already called for a referendum to amend the laws so he can stay in office.

“Even having lost the powers and the levers of presidential power and not tailoring the basic law according to my personal interests,” he raved on coyly, “I will manage to retain the most important thing that a person involved in politics must cherish — your trust. And using that, you and I will be able to exert influence on the life of our country and guarantee its development."

Could the master of innocent manipulation be trying to incite his still democratically naïve citizenry into already beginning to miss him at the helm so that, given enough time to stew over it, they might amend the troublesome constitution?

Or don’t tell us! Is he beginning to prepare them for the time when he himself might decide that the constitutional provision is an counterproductive inconvenience that stands in the way of the governmental excellence only he can provide?

Stay turned for developments as his third term moves closer to its conclusion. His antics make him one of the cleverest monkeys in the political rainforest.