The White House Astroturfed ‘Battle of Barack and Vladimir’

Was President (In This Corner) Barack Obama trying to give himself spurs by taking on tough guy Russian President Vladimir Putin on the boob tube?

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It’s highly unlikely that the timid Obama would say to Putin’s face what he said to Jay Leno on on Tuesday’s “The Tonight Show” when he posited that the Snowden development and other issues showed that Russia was “slipping back into Cold War thinking and a Cold War mentality”. That was Obama bravado on Tuesday, August 6, 2013. Obama wasn’t talking about “Cold War thinking and mentality” when he was caught on camera assuring outgoing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that he would have "more flexibility" to deal with contentious issues like missile defense after the U.S. presidential election. “Obama, during talks in Seoul, urged Moscow to give him "space" until after the November ballot, and Medvedev said he would relay the message to incoming Russian president Vladimir Putin.” (Reuters, March 26, 2012)

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Today Obama is taking full credit for “snubbing” Putin on a meeting planned for the two in Moscow. Only sixteen months ago, Obama and Medvedev huddled together on the eve of a global nuclear security summit in the South Korean capital, completely unaware that their words were being picked up by open microphones as reporters were being led into the room. As he was leaning toward Medvedev in Seoul, Obama was overheard asking for time - "particularly with missile defense" - until he was in a better position politically to resolve such issues. "This is my last election ... After my election I have more flexibility," Obama said, expressing confidence that he would win a second term. Medvedev had no reason not to believe Obama, who had already yanked the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense program from Poland to appease the Russians. "I will transmit this information to Vladimir," Medvedev told Obama. The exchange, parts of it inaudible, was monitored by a White House pool of television journalists as well as Russian reporters listening live from their press center. And just to think that this was the only audible portion of the exchange since parts of it could not be heard. “The White House, initially caught off-guard by questions about the leaders' exchange, later released a statement recommitting to implementing missile defense "which we've repeatedly said is not aimed at Russia" but also acknowledging election-year obstacles on the issue. While it cost Putin--the last man on earth to be afraid of the wobbly Obama--not a ruble, it cost Americans plenty for their president’s tough guy stance on “The Tonight Show”. “The Flight time on Air Force One alone was $1.8 million, at a cost of $180,000 per flight hour,” the Washington Times reports. “But that does not include two 50-minute flights in California on Marine One, the presidential helicopter, or the cost of lodging dozens of White House staffers and Secret Service agents overnight--or the cost of 20-vehicle motorcades at the various stops.” Between flexing his imaginary muscles, Obama used Jay Leno to address--for the very first time--the closing of American embassies and consulates--but only in a jocular manner. He wasn’t joking when he identified the ports of Charleston, S.C., Savannah, Georgia or Jacksonville, Florida as “Gulf Ports”. Then came the unacknowledged boomerang when Obama criticized Russia, saying he had no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgendered persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them. Asked if he thought the laws would affect the Olympics, Obama waltzed right in saying: “You know, I think Putin and Russia have a big stake in making sure that the Olympics work, and I think that they understand that for most of the countries that participate in the Olympics, we wouldn’t tolerate gays and lesbians being treated differently. They are athletes. They are there to compete. And if Russia wants to uphold the Olympic spirit, then every judgment should be made on the track or in the swimming pool, or the balance beam and peoples’ sexual orientation shouldn’t have anything to do with it.” Problem is no gays, lesbians or transgendered person will be getting prune-puckered in the Olympic swimming pool in Russia since the Russian Olympics are being held in the winter. Unless Putin is in on the Making-Obama-Look-Manly whitewash, he will know that late night television is no real arena. Meanwhile, we’ve come a long way from Ronald Reagan’s “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” and the long way in this case goes all the way to rock bottom.

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