Speaking of Talk

Speaking of talk, I don't buy it that Joe Biden was making foreign policy, by way of a Kinsley gaffe. The gist of his controversial comment was that in 2022, Putin is unacceptable as a national leader -- he's an abomination! -- was a bull's eye. Nor do I believe Biden was having a senior moment and simply emitted a faux pas.  

After a month of prosecuting the war in the Ukraine, it's plain to see Putin is a monster who can never be trusted again. At this point, it undermines a speaker's credibility to try to deny that truth, or even to dilute it.

Furthermore, by not saying what he did say in a more artful way, I think Biden's observation sounded more straight from the heart, less processed.

Hey, when today's talking heads line up to warn us that Biden must be more careful what he says about Putin, they just sound like pre-war fraidy cats. At this point, I mostly want President Biden to be truthful, resolute and play to win in the long run.

"I'm not walking anything back," Biden explained clearly and firmly to the press today. 

Holed up in Kyiv, MSNBC regular guest, Igor Novikov, said that Ukrainians miss the good old days, back when they were only being threatened by Rudy Giuliani. 

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