The President has been faced with many challenges since he took office over 6 years ago. And, as far as I can tell, he has been able to weasel himself out of every misstep he has made along the way. An overindulgent press really helps of course, and will continue to be Obama's shield in the future.
In fact, the only thing that he has actually accomplished is the passage of the Affordable Care Act, or Obama Care as it's popularly known. For the most part that bill has been an unmitigated disaster. So much so that he has had to repeatedly postpone key provisions of the bill due the hardship would cause small businesses and the impact that would have on the next election.
Now, we have a real kettle of fish brewing in the Ukraine. It is clear the Russians have invaded parts of the Ukraine because it's in their interest to so. They mask it behind protecting the ethic Russians living there from mobs of western backed Ukrainians. Of course as the free press has pointed out there is no mobs attacking anybody in the Crimea or any place in eastern Ukraine.
And what is Obama doing? As usual he is making speeches and veiled threats. But, Russia has seen, from many examples, just how much real danger is in Obama's promises and threats. He is yet to take any action to carry out his declaration of a Red Line that will not crossed, and was, many times.
It is clear to me that Putin rues the disassembling of the Soviet Empire and it's position as one of the worlds super powers and wants to return to those glory days. He still pictures the west and specifically the USA as his enemy and has gone to great lengths to harass America in every part of the globe where the circumstances permit. The old Soviet State is being reborn, with the suppression of a free press and all political opposition. Next I expect to see a walling off of Russia from the rest of the world as foreign journalists are only allowed into the country under strict government control. That's already happening to some extent. It's quite possible that the cold war will start to heat up again.
In the meantime, Obama is moving to cut our armed forces to pre WWII levels. He is living under the typical liberal fantasy that if we're good guys the bad guys will turn good too; that Putin is an honorable man and he is only reacting to our aggressive policies. He reminds me of Chamberlain waving a piece of paper after he gave away part of a country to Hitler and stating that with this agreement we will have piece in our time. As history shows, Hitlers word wasn't worth much.
Now Obama is caught up in a situation largely of his own making. Our capitulation in one world crises after another has encouraged Putin to invade Ukrainian territory without any fear of United States actions to thwart him. He now owns a strategic port on the Black Sea. And, at this stage there is little Obama can do except make some meaningless threats about sanctions, which hasn't phased Russia at all. Putin knows that any sanctions that have any teeth will not last very long, as the resources of Russia are sought by the world.
Putin is already making noises about protecting the ethnic Russians that populate eastern Ukraine from the "oppressive and illegal" government in Kiev. It wouldn't surprise me at all that the next move will be the invasion and annexation of eastern Ukraine into the Russian Federation.
Stay tuned. Watch as this play unfolds. I don't think it will have a happy ending.
