Saturday, March 29, 2014

President Obama refused to take the Republican's advice on how to deal with Putin's invasion of Crimea, and things worked out just like you imagine. Much better.

Courtesy of Bloomberg News:

 Sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the European Union are pushing Russia toward a recession as the intensity of their economic penalties increases after the annexation of Crimea earlier this month. 

Banks including state-run VTB Capital say the world’s ninth-biggest economy will shrink for at least two quarters as penalties for annexing Crimea rattle markets, curb investment and raise the cost of borrowing. Sanctions that have so far focused on individuals via visa bans and asset freezes may be expanded to target specific areas of the economy.

This pressure apparently was too much for Vlad, and the next thing you know.....

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia reached out to President Obama on Friday to discuss ideas about how to peacefully resolve the international standoff over Ukraine, a surprise move by Moscow to pull back from the brink of an escalated confrontation that has put Europe and much of the world on edge. 

After weeks of provocative moves punctuated by a menacing buildup of troops on Ukraine’s border, Mr. Putin’s unexpected telephone call to Mr. Obama offered a hint of a possible settlement. The two leaders agreed to have their top diplomats meet to discuss concrete proposals for defusing the crisis that has generated the most serious clash between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War.

Of course these are just preliminary talks, but it is more than a little impressive that Obama got Putin to call HIM without a shot being fired or any threats of blowing shit up.

Of course if the Republicans had their way we would have Americans dying on the border of Ukraine right now and we would be headed toward World War 3. You know the kind of "diplomacy" that gives those whose campaigns are paid for by the Military Industrial Complex giant boners.

(H/T to The Obama Diary.)

23 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:02 PM

    And not one of those assholes will have the balls to admit that Obama was right.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous1:43 PM

      No they won't. In fact, they'll find something wrong with the solution because....after all...the world has no respect for Obama because he is allegedly a wimp. If he grew a pair we'd be sending troops over and doing some of that really effective shock and awe to them Rooskies.

      Sheesh

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:50 PM

      Most comment I've been reading say how much they long for a "tough" president, or a "badass".

      Never once did I read "we need a president with brains", probably because we've got one and they can't go there. They'd rather admire Putin, the traitors.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous4:19 PM

      Amen brother or sister!!

      Delete
  2. Anonymous12:19 PM

    but it is more than a little impressive that Obama got Putin to call HIM without a shot being fired or any threats of blowing shit up. 



    Now you see why Sarah wants President Obama? The man is not only black and handsome, the man is smart.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. detroitsam5:01 PM

      I have always believed that Palin had the hots for president Obama. I can just imagine what she does to herself before falling to sleep each night.

      Delete
  3. Randall12:41 PM

    This is the difference between struttin' around threatenin' and actin' all tough and shoutin' bout common sense solutions
    ...and actually having an education and using intelligence to solve a problem.

    Can you imagine the cultural, economic, and rubble-strewn wasteland the planet would be right now had McCain and Stupid Palin gotten elected?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous1:37 PM

    Ahh shoot, President Obama just got lucky! Everybody knows what a badass Senator John McCain is when it comes time to getting tough. Remember how he didn't cower in fear that Sarah Palin would turn on him? Weren't those his words? He stood so strong against Sarah she tucked her tail and scampered back to Alaska and was never heard from again. Oh wait...

    I'm so glad we have an intelligent, thoughtful, well educated president. He comes through for the country time and time again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. detroitsam5:03 PM

      I am waiting for McCain to release his military records so we can see why his father had them sealed in the first place.

      Also, too, remember the USS Forrestal.

      Delete
  5. Caroll Thompson1:54 PM

    War happens when diplomacy fails. And unless you are little Teddy Nugent, who doesn't know what hell war is, then you are loving this President.

    President Obama is the best President of my lifetime. I thought this with his inauguration speech on January 20, 2009 and I still think it today.

    Hillary will be awesome too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:55 AM

      I agree completely.
      Beaglemom

      Delete
  6. angela2:13 PM

    Putin is a fake. The manly crap speaks loads to what he really is. A scared bullshit artist. If you're strong you don't have to out muscle a smaller sovereign nation. Maybe when his country gets that he and his buddies are stealing all of the wealth and pitting the Russians against everyone else so they won't look around at home--- his world will fall apart.

    Of course, after a while you no longer hear the high pitched wailing of republicans going after the president no matter what he does. The reason is-- only dogs can hear them now. In the world today you really need not fire a weapon. Bring 'em down financially and have their economy downgraded.. Cheers to the POTUS.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous2:22 PM

    John McCain and his bitch, Sarah Palin, both need to have their mouths sewn shut! When are they going to get it in their heads that President Obama is far smarter than either one of them and a much steadier leader!

    Americans do NOT want continual wars!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm a supporter of President Obama but this interpretation of events is simply wrong.

    President Putin can afford to be magnanimous now because he has already got what he set out to achieve. He's reaching out to Obama to give him a chance to save face.

    Following the US news from here in Europe I'm astounded by the sheer naked propaganda against Putin and Russia. Needless to say, most ordinary Europeans, as distinct from their governments, see things totally differently. Very few of them are prepared to go to war in support of the neo-Nazis and neo-fascists that Victoria Nuland allowed to seize power in Ukraine.

    Don't believe for one moment that there isn't a lot that Putin can do to retaliate against the US. For example, the withdrawal from Afghanistan depends on Russian cooperation. Hillary Clinton so messed up the US's foreign policy that the military can't leave Afghanistan the way that they entered - through Pakistan and the Khyber Pass. The only way out is through the Russian-controlled "stans" and Putin could make it very difficult.

    If you are going to spin the US's weak position you are going to have to do better than quote The Obama Diary and Bloomberg. Read the European media for a more accurate account of what is really going on.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous7:54 AM

      Well, since you are in Europe right now, you may not be aware that here the GOP "tough guys" like McCain and Graham wanted some kind of threats of military strikes and retaliation by the US. Most of us who are sane realize that that's not-the-way-to-go. I wouldn't say that President Obama was "weak" in response to Putin's seizure of Crimea. There is simply nothing he could realistically do except impose sanctions. Frome here it seemed that Europe was amazingly silent but then no one in Europe wants to start a war with Russia. Remember that even our recent warmongering president, George W. Bush, did nothing when Putin seized parts of Georgia. No one in the GOP called him weak for not sending troops or saber rattling. The "weak" thing is all GOP politics. And here, that's an everyday event.
      Beaglemom

      Delete
  9. Anonymous3:23 PM

    Just a slight correction in your headline "advice" instead of "advise". Otherwise, your post is spot on as always. Thanks for what you take the time to do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, you're right.

      Fixed now.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous3:43 PM

    Headline correction: ". . . Republicans' advice. . ."
    I agree with Gyalist @ 2:50. We need to proceed cautiously and not trust Putin's motives as anything but collecting bargaining chips to be used possibly against Ukraine when he wants to grab more real estate.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous4:17 PM

    Why do we as Americans even give a rats ass what Putin does in Crimea? Do you think Putin would care if Texas decided to take over Oklahoma, Louisiana, and New Mexico. Putin wouldn't give two shits what was happening here. I for one could not care less what happens in Russia/Ukraine/Crimea. We have enough problems to solve here in the once great US of A. Sorry to be so isolationist but I think that might be our best strategy if we are to survive as a country.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous4:39 PM

    If this turns out well for us, the Republican spin will be that Obama agreed to let Putin seize Crimea if Putin would make him look good by backing off Ukraine afterwards. Trust me, Accuracy In Media is working on this as I type.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anita Winecooler5:12 PM

    The only difference between the GOP and Democrats is the choice of tools. President Obama's smart enough to reach for a pen and a phone instead of a gun and bullets.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous7:47 AM

    Of course, John McCain will be all over the Sunday blather shows to condemn any action by President Obama. He's as bad as Sarah; he simply will not go away!
    Beaglemom

    ReplyDelete

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