Not evident in any of the west’s responses to aggression around the world. His day trip to Israel followed directly by probably the best speech of his presidency is not the image of Vincent Gigante is a bathrobe. I can buy that weakness in Afghanistan helped embolden Putin. But it was a major miscalculation on his part. Biden proved the opposite geopolitically - he pounded the table on the invasion long before anyone else, and Putin ran into a brick wall of western resolve, and a fortified, expanded NATO. His immediate preemptive response in the mid east is the best chance there to avoid a widening conflict. He’s turned himself into the most popular politician in Israel.

His apparent feebleness is almost entirely a domestic political risk. It is making a return of Trump and further entrenchment of MAGA in the repub party more likely. It’s that MAGA wing that is pushing capitulation to Russia now. That’s driving increasing risks of direct American involvement on multiple fronts.

[Post edited by hoolstoptheheels at 10/24/2023 10:49AM]