You might think I am nuttier than a Payday bar for what I am about to say, but I donât care. Iâm just thinking out loud about what might be occurring behind closed doors in the White House and the Kremlin.
My thought is this: Is it possible that President Biden is overstating the threat of war between Russia and Ukraine to purchase some more negotiating time with Vladimir Putin? Furthermore, would an agreement that Putinâs armed forces are âstanding downâ give the president a serious public-relations bump at a time when he needs it?
We all know that politicians try to play every angle at their disposal. I donât doubt for a second that Joe Biden is capable of playing such an angle for his benefit.
I also believe the president when his White House flack machine tells us the crux of what he told Putin in that hour-long phone call on Saturday, that the United States is prepared to inflict immediate and lasting economic harm to Russia if Putin sends in the troops to invade Ukraine. I also have difficulty accepting that Vladimir Putin is willing to accept that damage as the price of a battlefield conquest.
OK, call me nuts. Iâm a big boy and I can take it.