After caving on Syria, President Obama was rightfully criticized for his threat of “consequences” for Russia if it invaded Ukraine.
With the Russian move in Crimea, there is a need for political bi-partisanship at home – the way Democrats and Republicans worked together when JFK confronted the Soviets in Cuba those many years ago.
Sadly, and perhaps even perilously, the carnival performers at the mercifully just-ended Conservative Political Action Committee regaled each other and the media by not only making fun of how the President was performing in the Ukraine situation but even gave a vote of endorsement to the Russian boss.
After that, they devoted nonstop assaults on Secretary of State John Kerry.
There is an old saw that growing older is mandatory, but growing up is optional. Sadly again, the jokesters at CPAC forgot the adage that we only have one president at a time and proved to Putin and perhaps the world we don’t know how to come together when our reputation is on the line.
Just as inexcusable egotistical former State Secretary Henry Krissinger lined up a couple of other former diplomats to sign a media dispatch reciting what they would do under the circumstances.
More nobly and patriotically might have been their calling the White House and requesting a meeting with the President that undoubtedly would have been granted under the circumstances. There they could have presented their ideas.
On the other hand, Henry the K had some old failures like Angola that might have tainted his own show.
But then we should not have been surprised at this turn of events. It was only the morning after the Republicans retook power in the House of Representatives a couple of years ago when they declared only two major missions: to knock off the president and to stand in the way of anything and everything Democrats might advance.
Nowhere in their declaration of victory was there a word to help rebuild American standing in the world and in the nation.
So now, as Putin has the vote of confidence and praise of CPAC and leaders of the Republican party on the record, why on earth should he surrender an inch?
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Joseph J. Honick is president of GMA International in Bainbridge Island, Wash.
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