Originally posted at Clash Daily
If that infamous fly that usually lands on Obama’s face in the East Room were to make its way to a wall in Putin’s office, there’s a good chance Mr. Fly would get quite an earful. Imagine Vladimir Putin’s private reaction to a US president canceling plans to meet with him during his visit to Moscow next month.
Like the rest of us, Vladimir is finding out what Americans – from Supreme Court Justices to governors of red states to conservatives and Tea Party members – already know: If you differ with Barack Obama, he doesn’t take it well.
Lest we forget, this is the man who sent a message to Putin via Dmitry Medvedev that after the 2012 election he’d be “more flexible.” The problem is that America’s president is extremely rigid and his self-described flexibility is based solely on conditions that require total flexibility and complete agreement from people other than himself.
Of late, Mr. Flexibility is angry because of Russia’s Obama-style, in-your-face defiance in its decision to grant NSA leaker Edward Snowden temporary asylum, as well as Putin’s perceived pigheadedness over issues like gay rights.
So Obama canceled talks with Putin but made time to visit Jay Leno, where he needled the Russian president by discussing what he calls Russia’s “gay propaganda” policies and the “underlying challenges” the man-child now faces when dealing with Moscow.
In other words, Barack Obama’s answer to those “underlying challenges” is to dictate to Russia his views on homosexuality and attempt to publicly chasten Putin for harboring Edward Snowden, the man his administration considers a domestic spy for exposing a homeland espionage program that he denies even exists.
The president defines Russia’s refusal to embrace a radical gay philosophy and denial of the administration’s request to extradite Snowden in this way: “There have been times where they slip back into Cold-War thinking and a Cold-War mentality.”
In Mr. Flexibility’s narrow worldview, a sovereign nation like the US has the right to change laws to benefit LGBT couples, but another, equally sovereign nation has no right to “prohibit propaganda of homosexuality to minors.” Since past behavior is usually an indication of future conduct, here’s a prediction: America’s “First Gay President” will likely ease tensions with Russia by threatening to boycott the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
But, it’s not yet 2014, so to begin the process Obama cancelled previously scheduled one-on-one talks with Putin. Instead, prior to attending the G20 economic summit, Obama will stoke the cold war embers when, on behalf of clean energy, he adds a stop in Sweden.
White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said, “We’ll still work with Russia on issues where we can find common ground, but it was the unanimous view of the president and his national security team that a summit did not make sense in the current environment.”
What’s more likely is that “it was the unanimous view of the president,” period.
As for the “current environment”, there were already strains over the US barring 18 Russians for human rights violations and Russia signing a bill that bars US adoptions.
But what really seems to irk Mr. Flexibility is Putin’s stance on international issues that resemble similar decisions Obama has made concerning uprisings he felt inclined to assist, as well as the Kremlin’s ongoing suppression of critics with tactics similar to the ones Obama utilizes via the IRS and the NSA. And then there’s Russia’s willingness to harbor anyone who places barriers in the way of the president being able to silence detractors.
So once again, like a spoiled brat, Barack Obama is in the throes of a very public temper tantrum. To the detriment of world peace and possibly our country’s well-being, the president is choosing to fight his childish battles by demeaning the president of Russia on late-night television.
