So, as he’s on his way out, the man who is president of the United States for days (and counting) decided to play hardball with Russia. As a result, he is the recipient of the most direct and withering criticisms directed at any head of state in my memory.
With his presidency in shambles and reputation being depleted with every passing day, Barack Obama acted like a tough guy and ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats and the shuttering of two Russian-owned properties, one in Maryland and the other on Long Island. He gave them 72 hours to get out, and they are complying.
His rationale for the move is that he is accusing the Russians of hacking the American presidential election and, by allegedly doing so, ensured the election of Donald Trump.
The big problem is that Obama has not provided proof of the hacking nor of the effect any such moves may have had on the election outcome.
Sore loser, anyone?
No doubt, Obama thought he would antagonize Vladimir Putin into taking strong moves against the U.S., but Vlad was smarter than Obama, and played it cool.
Sorry, Barack, you were played the fool, and I suspect you probably don’t even know it. Chicago street politics don’t work in the international arena.
In fact, Putin took, as some might say, the high road and did nothing to retaliate. In fact, when it was expected that he would close a school for international students in Moscow, Putin invited the students to the Kremlin to celebrate the holiday.
Vladimir Putin said he would wait to see how relations between his country and the U.S. would transpire under the new Trump administration before making any specific changes in relations between the countries.
In a statement, Putin said, “We will not expel anyone. We will not prevent their families and children from using their traditional leisure sites during the New Years’ holidays.”
In fact, Putin invited the families and children of U.S. diplomats to the Kremlin to celebrate the New Year.
Ooh, sneaky move, that. Bet Barack didn’t expect it – no response from the Hawaii vacation White House.
The response from the Trump camp about Putin’s move was not surprising. “Great move on delay – I always knew he was very smart.”
How this plays out for the Trump administration remains to be seen but at this point, it appears to be positive.
The part of all this that I love is the reaction of Russian officials to the move by Obama – their incredible honestly and insulting comments that no one has made any specific response to and which Vladimir Putin has, publically at least, ignored.
Sergey Lavrov, Russian foreign minister, called the Obama administration “a group of foreign policy losers, angry and shallow-brained.”
Konstantin Kosachav, head of the upper house of the Duma, said “this is the agony of not the lame ducks but of political corpses.”
Morira Zakharova said the American people have been “humiliated by their president.” She added, “The bad performance is over.”
The Russian Embassy in the U.K. issued a statement saying, “Everybody, including the American people, will be glad to see the last of this hapless administration.”
A senior pro-Putin MP, Irina Yarovaya said, “Obama is seeking revenge on U.S. voters who rejected his policies in voting for Trump,” adding that Obama’s actions are getting more and more destructive.
There’s a lot of truth in these statements, and the fact that it takes foreigners to express them – and neither American politicians nor the American media – is a reflection of how skewed our politics have become.
The reality is that the American people recognize how inept the Obama administration has become, and the outcome of the election reflects that.
We know Obama is a failure who has put this country in great jeopardy, and the election proves that. Americans want a change and voted for it. Regardless of the point of view of the media or of the politicians who are more concerned with protecting their turf, American citizens want to get their country back and want it to be a safe place to raise their children and live their lives.
Now, 2017 is the beginning of a move toward that, and they are putting their faith in Donald Trump to help us along that way. If Vladimir Putin is part of that, so be it. It can’t be any worse than what we’re facing now.
Obama continues acting like the president – commuting prison sentences, declaring new national monuments, ignoring the chaos his policies have caused in the Middle East and, of course, taking another of his extravagant family vacations charged to the American taxpayer. In fact, these latest presidential decrees and actions are made from Hawaii, while he is supposed to be vacationing and relaxing but really while he continues his steamrolling through our country and our future.
It’s clear he doesn’t care. He has his own agenda and plans to carry it out regardless of the effect it will have on Americans now and in the future.
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