July 29, 2009--There You Go Again, Joe

When he was in Moscow recently President Obama did not look into the eyes of President Dmitri Medvev and declare that he saw his soul. But he did say that that he wanted to “reset” U.S.-Russian relations. That there are many important and dangerous issues in the world where our mutual interest suggests it would be better to work together than at a chilly distance.

The soul-peerer, George Bush, who famously said this about his soul after his first meeting with then Russian President Putin, and then declared him a “good man,” subsequently decided that Russia’s criticism of our invasion of Iraq and threats to Iran no longer made them a partner to be trusted. And from the Russian perspective, they saw us meddling in internal politics within their sphere of influence. They were especially upset by our open support for restive regimes in Ukraine and Georgia. They felt, like the fallen but still upwardly-aspiring superpower they once were, that this was a blow to their national pride. And, further, wondered how would we feel if they sent their vice president (Cheney initially) to Mexico and Canada and got behind political leaders there who were anti-American.

So, if Obama and Secretary of State Clinton want to start again with Russia, as they both have repeatedly said, what was Vice President Joe Biden doing in Georgia and Ukraine last week? And more puzzling and upsetting, what in God’s name was he saying about Russia in an interview in the Wall Street Journal?

OK, so he went to these countries not only to represent the administration of which he is supposed to be a comfortable part but because during his long years in the Senate, from his senior seat on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, he has a special interest in that region. Fine, but did you see what he then said, while still there, about Russia? Our new best friend?

I understand—he is restless and wanted to get out of Washington and do some overseas traveling now that he has his own big plane to fly around in. It must feel a little confining for his expansive personality—to be the invisible second-banana in a White House where all those young and bright Chicagoans swirl around Obama while poor Joe can hardly get a word in edgewise. And we know how he likes to get in a word or two or a thousand.

So why didn’t they send him to Italy where he could have met with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and commiserated with him about his latest bimbo irruption? Remember those? And even meet with the Pope? I’m sure Joe would have a lot to say to him. But, no, they let him go to the simmering borders of Russia and while there he really stepped in it. So deeply that even Hillary Clinton on Sunday on Meet the Press needed to reinterpret the meaning of his comments. Though I’m sure she took a little perverse pleasure doing this.

In case you missed what Biden said to the WSJ some of it is included in the article linked below. Let me, though, give you a few of the lowlights.

He began by saying that we would make no compromises in exchange for better relations with Russia. This, within weeks of Obama’s visit there where he and Medvedev agreed to reduce our nuclear stockpiles and the number of our offensive missiles. But let’s chalk that one up to tough love. Our VPs are often asked to play the bad-guy role. Dick Cheney won numerous Academy Awards doing that.

But then he went on to offer scathing criticism of the state of the Russian economy and corrupt political culture. In this he sounded more like Rush Limbaugh than Barack Obama. In his own words he said:

They have a shrinking population base, they have a withering economy, they have a banking sector and structure that is not likely to withstand the next 15 years, they’re in a situation where the world is changing before them and they’re clinging to something in the past that is not sustainable.

Some of this may in fact be true, but to state it so publicly and bluntly when your boss is trying to cool the leftover Cold War rhetoric to get better relations going so we can perhaps get Russia to help us with Iran suggests that Biden forgot to pack his meds and muzzle for the long trip.

Then there is an irony in what he said—take out Russia and insert the United States in his comments and they also ring true. Don’t we too have a “withering economy”? Aren’t our financial institutions still in grave danger? Can he assure us that all will be well with our banking system in 15 years? Aren’t we too in our continuing overseas adventures also “clinging” to notions of American power and exceptionalism from “the past”? For example, is he oblivious to the concern that expanding our military role in Afghanistan feels preternaturally similar to what the Russians got disastrously trapped in during the 1980s?

This from a man who prides himself in knowing the nuanced ins-and outs of foreign policy and claims he is steeped in world history. Further, isn’t he the person Obama put in charge of overseeing the implementation of the stimulus program? Particularly the part that is supposed to save or create millions of jobs? Well, how’s he doing with that? It’s not easy to keep an eye on all the supposedly shovel-ready projects from Georgia, unless you’re hanging out in Atlanta and not Tbilisi.

Therefore I suggest taking the keys to Air Force Two away from him and sending him to I-95 where not much is happening. It needs fixing, the money’s there to get the job done, but very few are thus far at work.

So, Joe, you’re grounded.