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WASHINGTON (AP) - The No. 2 Republican in the House on Thursday compared President Barack Obama's plans for the auto industry to the policies of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, saying the White House has stripped credit holders of rights and given them to Democratic allies.

"They said, 'Set aside the rule of law, let's strip secured creditors, bondholders, of their rights. Take them away outside of the bankruptcy process and give them to the political cronies and the auto workers' unions," Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"It's almost like looking at Putin's Russia," added Canton, the GOP's House whip. "You want to reward your political friends at the expense of the certainty of law?"

The Obama administration this week set bonus limits on companies that have received billions of dollars in federal bailout money and appointed a "special master" with power to reject pay plans he deems excessive.

Conservatives eagerly compare such government "meddling" and Obama's governing style to leaders half a world away.

"Like Obama, Putin has a fawning media that is intimidated by an uncertain marketplace and looking for any help to stay afloat," John Feehery, a conservative consultant and veteran House Republican spokesman, wrote Wednesday on his blog.

In a wide-ranging interview, Cantor said that Obama's economic rescue plans and Democrats' sweeping overhaul of the health care system will sour with recession-weary voters before the 2010 midterm elections. He predicted Republicans will retake control of the House.

While acknowledging that Democrats may well have the votes to push Obama's health plan through Congress with few or no Republican votes, "it will be at a huge political cost," Cantor said.

"The Democratic agenda is unraveling," he said, elucidating what's become the Republicans' main talking point in recent weeks. "My sense is by November of 2010, (there will be) an electorate that really wants to see a check and a balance on unfettered power."

Democrats enjoy a 256-178 majority in the House, with one vacancy. Republicans would have to have a net gain of 40 seats in November 2010 to reclaim a majority. Cantor said they would begin by looking at the 49 districts that voted for Republican John McCain for president last year but are represented by Democrats.

Republicans are in a titanic struggle over who speaks for the GOP and what the party stands for, conservative principles alone or a "big tent" approach that can accommodate centrist members in the name of growth. Focusing on conservative principles cost the GOP a Senate seat when Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania switched from the GOP to the Democratic Party, putting Obama's party in reach of a crucial 60-seat Senate majority.

The most visible Republicans at present have been deeply unpopular outside the GOP's conservative base: former Vice President Dick Cheney, radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

"The issue for us is rebuilding a governing majority that is comfortable with differences that can transcend the divisiveness and unify behind the principles that we know our party has succeeded on," namely limited government and individual rights, Cantor said.

This daredevil sought to prove that skydiving and heavy drinking can go together as part of a dangerous stunt in a vertical wind tunnel.

The tunnels replicate the conditions of an actual skydive by blasting powerful jets of air directly upwards, causing anyone inside the chamber to "float".

They are used to train divers for proper free falls, but this man decided to combine the experience with some alcoholic refreshment.

He is shown visibly struggling to open his lips against the force of the gust, but eventually manages to bring the bottle to his mouth and take a sip.

While you might think that vodka would be the natural choice of the daredevil Russian skydiver, the stuntman was actually drinking from a bottle of samogon, a moonshine that was illegal in the country until recently.

Samogan is ususally distilled from sugar, but can also be made from corn, potatoes and even plywood. It was especially popular during the Soviet era when vodka supplies could be unstable.

I spent a recent flight going through my 2,500+ Russia photographs. My top 80 got tagged and sorted and are displayed in the gallery below. You must see these pictures! They wholeheartedly recap 1 year in Russia. Looking at the gallery, you can count on one hand pictures without people/friends/colleagues in them. Russia is a vast and beautiful landscape with spectacular, world-renowned sites. However, the pictures I best like include people. I want to remember Russia not for what it looks like but who it is.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all my RU friends who made 1 year in Moscow simply amazing. Thanks to you for reading the blog.

Signing off from Moscow, RU, for now.

Also check out this gallery for an amazing Metro shot at the end!

Website with more information in English

Team Russia pose with their gold medals and trophy.