While we diddled in Iraq, Vladimir Putin maneuvered Russia to a point where it loans us money, holds western Europe by the throat with natural gas and oil, and can challenge NATO by invading Georgia (although I hardly agree with the US media that Russia's the big bad bear in this war). After repeatedly failing to recognize Russia's growing influence and power--and remember, Secretary of State Condi Rice is alleged to be an expert in Russian affairs (I'm laughing out loud as I type this)--the US has been completely snookered by Putin. Need I remind you that Bush saw Putin's soul? Or that John McCain thought that that was a sound judgment? And now McCain is pounding his chest as if we have any leverage at all.Putin, upon meeting Bush for the first time, realized that the chimp was a chump on an epic scale. And Condi Rice? She proved her incompetence as national security advisor before and after 9/11, so why shouldn't Putin have expected that her Russian "expertise" was equally bogus?
Now the only question is, can we make it five more months before total collapse?
