I pray we’re not at war with Russia by the time this column gets into print. But, given our president’s inability to handle questions with any kind of clarity, I guess just about anything is a possibility.
Don’t know about you, but when Joe Biden prefaces an answer with “let me be clear,” I get worried because nine times out of ten befuddlement is sure to follow. In an unscripted format, our president may be the most dangerous leader on the world stage. No joke.
Consider three questions asked at his two-hour press conference marking his first year in office.
- Jen Epstein, Bloomberg: Given ineffective sanctions against Russia in the past, why should the threat of new sanctions give Vladimire Putin pause?
President Biden: He’s never seen sanctions like the ones I promised will be imposed. Russia will be held accountable if it invades. And, it depends on what it does. It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do, et cetera.
- David Sanger, New York Times: If Vladimire Putin does invade, would your posture be to really move back to the kind of containment policy that you saw so often when you were still in the Senate?
President Biden: The answer is that I think he still does not want any full-blown war, number one. Number two, do I think he’ll test the West, test the United States and NATO as significantly as he can? Yes, I think he will. My guess is he will move in. He has to do something.
- Alex Alper, Reuters: Mr. President, you said that Russia would be “held accountable if it invades” and “it depends on what it does”; “it’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion and… we end up having to fight about what to do and what not to do.”
President Biden: Good question. That’s how it did sound like, didn’t it? If it’s a — something significantly short of a significant invasion — or not even significant, just major military forces coming across — for example, it’s one thing to determine that if they continue to use cyber efforts, well, we can respond the same way, with cyber. And I want to be clear with you. I think we will, if there’s something that is — that — where there’s Russian forces crossing the border, killing Ukrainian fighters, et cetera — I think that changes everything. But it depends on what he does.
Good Lord, what’s our president trying to say?
His opaque answers sent shock waves throughout NATO and our allies, forcing the White House and the Secretary of State to spend much of the week explaining what the president really, truly meant. The stock market sank. Saber rattling ensued.
My advice: Get back to the “still waters run deep” strategy. Basement Joe makes for a safer world.
WHAT I’M WATCHING
I recently saw two movies I can recommend. “The Tender Bar” is a new one with Ben Affleck that will leave you feeling good. George Clooney produced it. I enjoyed it.
I also saw “Don’t Worry – He Won’t Get Far On Foot.” That’s a story that centers around the AA’s 12-Step Program based on the memoir by John Callahan. Well worth the time.
ONE MORE THING
– Someone posted that they had just baked “some synonym buns.” I replied “just like the ones grammar made?”
– Never sit on the floor without a really good plan for getting back up.
– What time does a duck wake up? At the quack of dawn.
– The sarcastrophe: ^. A triangle symbol around words to denote sarcasm. For example: ^It never rains in Marin.^
Thanks for reading, everybody. Until next week, dear readers, avoid soreheads, laugh a little and always question authority.
(Sherman Frederick is an award-winning journalist and publisher of Marin’s community newspapers — the Novato Advance, San Rafael News-Pointer, Mill Valley Herald, Ross Valley Reporter, Twin City Times and the Sausalito Marin Scope. He is co-founder of Battle Born Media, a news organization dedicated to the preservation of community newspapers. You can reach him by email at shermfrederick@gmail.com.)
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