Putin Smashes Washington’s Cocoon

The American Interest ^ | 3/1/2014 | Walter Russell Mead

[mojito]

A Politico report calls it “a crisis that no one anticipated.” The Daily Beast, reporting on Friday’s US intelligence assessment that “Vladimir Putin’s military would not invade Ukraine,” quotes a Senate aide claiming that “no one really saw this kind of thing coming.”

Op-eds from all over the legacy press this week helped explained why. Through the rose tinted lenses of a media community deeply convinced that President Obama and his dovish team are the masters of foreign relations, nothing poor Putin did could possibly derail the stately progress of our genius president. There were, we were told, lots of reasons not to worry about Ukraine. War is too costly for Russia’s weak economy. Trade would suffer, the ruble would take a hit....Headlines like “Why Russia Won’t Invade Ukraine,” “No, Russia Will Not Intervene in Ukraine,” and “5 Reasons for Everyone to Calm Down About Crimea” weren’t hard to find in our most eminent publications.

Nobody...is infallible about the future. Giving the public your best thoughts about where things are headed is all a poor pundit (or government analyst) can do. But this massive intellectual breakdown has a lot to do with a common American mindset that is especially built into our intellectual and chattering classes. Well educated, successful and reasonably liberal minded Americans find it very hard to believe that other people actually see the world in different ways.

[null and void]

john f’n Kerry as secretary of state? Puhlease!

It was a step up from The Hildabeast...

[dfwgator]

One way or another, this was inevitable...whether Putin or some other Russian leader....They were not going to let the entire of Ukraine get away from them...Western Ukraine, fine. But Crimea and Donetsk, wasn’t going to happen.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

This article nails it. I was doing laundry and CNN State of the Union was on and had Brzezinski and Madeleine Albright on as analysts. It was a complete and utter joke.

[null and void]

[Revolting cat!]

This is a brilliant article, spread it!

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

Of course they didn’t see it coming. It is hard to get a broad view when you’re peeking out of Obama’s ass. Like a pin hole camera.

[VerySadAmerican]

Kerry loves to hear himself talk down to people, doesn’t he. With the possible exception of Teresa.

[RedMDer]

Woo Hoo!

Less than $3.4k to go!!
GIT-R-DONE!

Make Today, Day 61 the day!

[tcrlaf]

“Kerry had harsh words for Putin this morning - he said Putin won’t be invited to any A-List parties if he keeps this up.

Putin was damaged. He laughed so hard he fell on the floor...”

Gosh, If Putin isn’t careful, Obama might even unfriend him on Facebook!!!

[Popman]

The big question of course, is what President Obama will take away from this experience. Has he lost confidence in the self-described (and self-deceived) ‘realists’ who led him down the primrose path with their empty happy talk and their beguiling but treacherous illusions? Has he rethought his conviction that geopolitics and strategy are relics of a barbarous past with no further relevance in our own happy day? Is he tired of being humiliated on the international stage? Is it dawning on him that he has actual enemies rather than difficult partners out there, and that they wish him ill and seek to harm him? (Again, we are not talking about the GOP in Congress.)

The answer is a resounding NO..

Narcissists are never wrong and if they actually might be, they blame someone else...

Somehow in the twisted minds of progressive marxists like Obama he will find a way to blame the Tea Party or the GOP...and then eventually Bush...

[satan]

I wonder if Iran is watching.

[Chgogal]

The big question of course, is what President Obama will take away from this experience. Has he lost confidence in the self-described (and self-deceived) ‘realists’ who led him down the primrose path with their empty happy talk and their beguiling but treacherous illusions? Has he rethought his conviction that geopolitics and strategy are relics of a barbarous past with no further relevance in our own happy day? Is he tired of being humiliated on the international stage? Is it dawning on him that he has actual enemies rather than difficult partners out there, and that they wish him ill and seek to harm him? (Again, we are not talking about the GOP in Congress.)

Obama is a ideological narcissist brat boy who is too stupid to learn from experience.

[Popman]

I wonder if Iran is watching.

I'm sure they are...like watching a three stooges show...

[Digger]

This article nails it. I was doing laundry and CNN State of the Union was on and had Brzezinski and Madeleine Albright on as analysts. It was a complete and utter joke.

Please tell us what was said because you were the only viewer.(sarc)

[fella]

Meanwhile O’Bammy has declared his intention to cut back our military to pre-WWII size so was to be able to keep those EBT cards full every month until the end of his term.

Of course our population pre-WWII was fare less than today so in per-capita terms our military will be fare weaker than then.

[neverdem]

BTTT!

[GreenHornet]

I wonder if Iran is watching.

I'm sure they are...like watching a three stooges show...

You owe The Three Stooges an apology. They would have handled this better.

[RipSawyer]

“Well educated, successful and reasonably liberal minded Americans find it very hard to believe that other people actually see the world in different ways.”
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

I need some definitions here. Does “well educated” actually mean educated or does it mean having some degrees which may have nearly nothing to do with actual education? What does successful mean? Does it refer to personal accomplishment or riding someone’s coattails? Is there such a thing as “reasonably liberal minded”?

[RipSawyer]

Never happen, the light hurts their eyes.

[Doomonyou]

When a straw man builds a cocoon, it’s bound to fail.