Vladimir Putin sees Barack Obama's coolness as weakness – and it is hurting America
Russia's bombing of American allies in Syria underlines how much more powerful and provocative Putin is than he was before Obama took office
Russian warplanes began bombing American-backed Syrian opposition strongholds on Wednesday, a move that can be viewed as the latest example of American humiliation abroad.
As was the case when Russiansinvaded Ukraine, the Russians cloaked their activity in lies.
In the former example, Russian soldiers didn't wear uniforms, a thinly-veiled move meant to create the impression the fighters were merely Ukrainian "separatists."
Likewise, Wednesday's bombings ostensibly targeted Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil); in fact, the strikes were aimed at moderate rebels and civilians – part of a plan to take out any opposition to their client, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Syrian President Bashir al-Assad REUTERS
This all comes on the heels of President Barack Obama's drawing of a "red line" regarding the use of chemical weapons, only to back down when the Assad regime – by most accounts – used them.
This past week, White House press secretary Josh Earnest strained credulity when he said Mr Obama doesn't regret drawing that red line.
Weakness invites provocation, and – never one to miss an opportunity to outmanoeuvre Mr Obama – Mr Putin provided a self-serving opportunity that would also allow the president to save face: Moscow would push Syria to put their chemical weapons under international control.
It's also important to note that in the wake of the red line being trampled, Russia invaded Crimea. President Obama's legacy may be mixed, but one thing is for sure: Vladimir Putin is much more powerful and provocative than he was before Mr Obama took office, and Russia has only expanded its sphere of influence.
The Syria bombings also come almost immediately after Mr Putin met with Mr Obama at the UN where they agreed to "deconflict" military operations – a very Obama-esque line that Mr Putin immediately crossed.
Russian bombs exploding outside Idlib Hadi Al-Abdallah via AP
And prior to bombing our friends in Syria, the Russians also had the audacity to issue a "démarche" for the US to clear air space over northern Syria. As if that weren't enough, this came just as reports that the Russians attempted to hack Hillary Clinton's email server.
For those paying attention, Mr Obama's foreign policy world-view has failed.
The suggestion that America could leave a vacuum that wouldn't be filled by our adversaries – the idea that the "international community" (whatever that means) would respect us more if we were to retreat from the world – was always a farce.
At some level, high-stakes diplomacy is still a game of chicken – where machismo matters.
Even domestically, there are still traces of this left in our more civilised politics.
We recently witnessed an example of Jeb Bush standing on his toes during a photo-op, attempting to appear taller than Donald Trump. This is childish and petty, and yet serious people play these power games.
But nobody plays them better than Mr Putin, the former KGB officer who likes to ride horses while shirtless.
It's nice to live in a postmodern country, but we shouldn't delude ourselves into believing the rest of the world is impressed by our sophistication.
In the vast majority of the world, power (or the perception of power) is what matters. In America, President Obama's brand of metrosexual coolness works well.
Vladimir Putin Getty Images
He mocked Mitt Romney, for example, as a Neanderthal stuck in the 1980s for suggesting in 2012 that Russia was still our main geopolitical foe.
Mr Obama's mix of cool insouciance and biting sarcasm plays much better with the latte-sipping crowd than it does with former KGB operatives, where his style and rhetoric suggests weakness, softness, and a lack of commitment and moral clarity.
Today, it looks like he's allowing Russia to push America around, and dictate the terms of our being pushed around.
One can only imagine that this might impact the 2016 presidential race. My theory is that it helps Donald Trump. He's perceived as a "winner" who could stand up to Mr Putin.
It's reasonable to conclude that what we need is a Mr Putin of our own. They've got a strongman – maybe we need a strongman? Mr Trump might be a sonofabitch, Americans might conclude, but he's our sonofabitch!
In the world of high-stakes diplomacy with a man like Mr Putin, politics is closer to the law of the jungle than anything civilised.
He's not terribly concerned about being on "the wrong side of history" -- a line Mr Obama bandies about as if its intimidating to anyone outside American cities.
It has been said that when you watch a political debate, you should turn down the sound and predict the winner, via body language.
When you look at Mr Putin and his ministers, and then compare them to Mr Obama and their Russian counterparts, one gets the sense that the Russians would easily win every fist fight.
Unfortunately, it's the United States of America that is left with a black eye.
Matt K. Lewis is a senior contributor at The Daily Caller website in Washington, DC
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