The Gaffe

Biden’s Mouth

Joe Biden – he’s  legendary.  He’s been “gaffing”, saying surprising and sometimes extraordinary things in the middle of more “mundane” moments, for decades.  Up until this week, the most famous Biden gaffe was the “hot mic” whisper to then President Barack Obama at the passage of the Affordable Care Act: “This is a big f**king deal!!”.  And there’s even a “top ten” list of Biden’s gaffes, going back to 1987 (Time).

Some critics claim that it’s now some kind of dementia, a loss of control in the near-eighty year old man.  But the reality is, if this is dementia, then he’s been demented for the last half-century.  And supporters recognize that Biden has struggled with a stuttering disability throughout his life, and sometimes in that struggle – things slip out.  Maybe they’re right about “slips”, or maybe the gaffes are just a reflection of his inner thoughts.  

Truth Speaks

I think Biden is of sound mind, and knows full well what he’s saying.  He uses his “gaffes” to say the things he’s “not supposed to say”.  The Affordable Care Act was a “big f**king deal”.  So this weekend in a dramatic speech in Warsaw, the President laid out the case for world democracies to stand up to Russia.  He talked about the fate of the refugees now leaving Ukraine, and the terrible destruction of cities and civilians throughout that nation.  And Biden ended by saying about Vladimir Putin, “…for God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power”.  

You could feel the oxygen get sucked out of  seventh floor of the US State Department headquarters in Foggy Bottom.  The President of the United States violated one of the premier rules of diplomacy:  never call for “regime change”.  And there are good reasons for that.  Once you say the “King must die”, then it’s going to be even harder to negotiate a peace with that “King” later on.  It’s the reason we didn’t bomb the Japanese Emperor’s Palace in World War II.  If we killed the Emperor, who would have the authority to surrender to us?  

Return to Normalcy

And the world (outside of Ukraine) looks to an end to the conflict, and a return to normalcy when Russia is among the “civilized” nations of the world.  Besides, Russian natural gas is a big part of the European economy.  How can we get back to normal if the leader of the free world, the President of the United States, calls for the removal of the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin?

The question Joe Biden poses is a simple one.  When a world leader starts a war of conquest that has sent ten million people from their homes, destroyed cities, and ultimately will cause the deaths of a hundred thousand people or more; how do we go “back to normal”?  What price is going to be paid for the war crimes of the Russian invasion, by the man who is directly responsible for those acts? 

Even if Putin  withdrew his tanks and stopped his bombings today, does the world go “back to normal” tomorrow?  I hope not, and I hope that world doesn’t think so either.  Joe Biden is speaking for us all when he says – “…this man cannot remain in power”.  

Consequences

This doesn’t mean we are sending a cruise missile to destroy the Kremlin.  And it doesn’t mean that the US President is calling for revolution in Russia.  But is does point out the obvious:  the world changed when the tanks went across the Ukrainian border and the first cruise missiles struck the Baba Yar Memorial in downtown Kyiv.  Being the leader of a major world power like Russia requires responsibility, and the actions that leader takes have consequences.  If the Russian people can’t hold Putin to account for those actions, then the rest of the world must.

We are already doing so.  The sanctions have wrecked the Russian economy.  The ruble was worth more than $.20 a few months ago, today it is worth less than a penny.  In the next several months, the last financial lifeline, the natural gas lines from Russia into Europe, will be replaced from US sources.  All of Russia will suffer for the singular decisions made by their authoritarian leader.

Responsibility

President Biden, in his Warsaw “gaffe”, has put the responsibility directly where it belongs.  Vladimir Putin directed this invasion, and bears complete responsibility for the results.  If he is not held personally liable, then, in the end, the world somehow white washes the destruction and the death.  

Biden spoke for every common man in the civilized world when he said that Putin cannot remain in power.  He told Putin that he cannot use the veneer of “diplomatic immunity” to commit war crimes.  And, in that brief phrase, he told the world that we cannot “go back to normal” just because the shooting stops in Ukraine.

And that’s no mistake, no gaffe.  It’s a big deal.

Ukraine Crisis

• The Gaffe – 3/28/22
• Putin’s Choice – 3/27/22
• Far Away From the Front – 3/20/22
• The Next Step – 3/17/22
• Thinking the Unthinkable – 3/14/22
• Russian Oil – 3/11/22
• Kyiv’s Choice – 3/8/22
• The Logic of Madness – 3/7/22
• Lights Out – 3/6/22
• Ante Up – 3/3/22
• State of the Union  3/2/22
• The Guns of March 3/1/22
• Sanctions 2/26/22
• What Happens Next 2/24/22
• The Games Begin  2/22/22
• Talking with a Friend 2/18/22
• Trip Wire 2/2/22
• On the Brink 1/23/22
• The Ukrainian Dilemma 12/5/19