From Russia, with not much ........

It’s an old truism that a week is a long time in politics!

A corollary of this same belief is that, for a president, a couple of months is an eon.

Think back to Berlin last year and then fast forward through Cairo a few weeks ago and now look at the latest trip. There are huge differences in the receptions accorded to Obama over that period.

Obama draws oxygen from the adulation of crowds. The trip to Russia tells the story of a man who cannot compete with his own expectations. And the sad thing is Obama knows it but yet he feels powerless to do anything about it.

But, before we go any further, let's look at Russia for a moment or two. For a start, their economy is no better than a third world country, their population is shrinking and cannot sustain their new welfare programs. As evidence of that, consider that more than 2/3 of pregnancies end in abortion. And the reason why is also clear; the parents see no future for their foetus.

Now, by this time, we should be used to Obama going abroad and apologizing for everything from slavery to global warming to, well, you name your real or perceived shortcoming. On the other hand, he’s very good at praising other nations and societies for their achievements even though the claims are demonstrably false.

Wouldn’t it be nice if, every once in a while, he would criticize what’s wrong with other countries and praise his own?

But, back to Russia for a while. Obama’s press conference earlier this week wasn’t even shown on Russian television. Instead they elected to air a rerun of a local soccer game. Then Obama went to a graduation ceremony for a Moscow business school. And only the end of his speech was greeted with polite but muted applause. There were no scenes of delirium, no mink papakhas being tossed onto the stage. By the way, for those from Lake Havasu, a “papakha” is nothing more exotic than a fur hat.

Now, why did the students sit on their hands until the last moment? Well, for a start, he apologized for the part of the US in starting and perpertrating the Cold War. The students knew better and they also were not buying into his follow-up that the Cold War ended only because the countries of Eastern Europe were unhappy with the status quo. Hence, the absence of adulation and the consequent hypoxia of Obama.

Well, I try to keep these posts down in length. There are several reasons for that. First of all, my smart readers have moved onto other things in their mind and those from Lake Havasu don’t know that many words.

But, before I sign off and while I know it's off-topic we are on the subject of Obama’s foreign diplomacy so let’s not forget that in Israel only 6% believe that Obama has their best interest in mind while more than half believe he favors the Arabs.

Well, let’s face it, his middle name is Hussein.