By MELISSA COLLINS DELTONA, Fla. -- Are we on the verge of World War III? Is Obama floundering?
The answer to the first question is not yet known. The answer to the latter is obvious.
And because of the indecisiveness in the White House, Putin is proving to the World that where there is a vacuum it will be filled.
With President Obama completely undermining Reagan's "Peace through Strength" leadership style that was instrumental in dismantling the USSR, should we be surprised that Putin has become more aggressive? After all, who in the world is going to stop the Soviet KGB-bred Russian Bear?
With President Obama completely undermining Reagan's "Peace through Strength" leadership style that was instrumental in dismantling the USSR, should we be surprised that Putin has become more aggressive? After all, who in the world is going to stop the Soviet KGB-bred Russian Bear?
It is becoming as clear as day now that Putin has been waiting for just such an opportunity. Make no mistake about it: Vladimir Putin is a very intelligent and calculating man. He believes in Mother Russia and is a proud patriot of his country.
Putin looks at America as a parasite on the world's economy; having openly said so back in 2011.
In the chess match playing out between Russia and the United States, sadly for the first time in a very long time Russia has the upper hand.
America is a war-weary country. No one is anxious to jump into another war, especially one that is not a result of a direct attack on American soil. Also, the coffers are empty, actually, beyond empty. America is so far in debt, with $163 billion to Russia alone. And even greater amounts to Communist China. We have lost our financial power in the world's eyes.
In the 2012 elections, Mitt Romney ran on a platform that included being self-sufficient as a nation in energy resources (off-shore drilling), while Obama was perfectly happy to lease our land and then buy oil from other countries. Russia, on the other hand, is one of the world's leading oil producers in addition to its vast natural gas resources.
Perhaps Obama is floundering because he knows he has no other choice. His leadership from behind has bitten us -- the American people -- squarely on the backside. We have no moves to make. The laughable sanctions being imposed on Russia are merely symbolic. After all, how much can you punish someone where you have credit indebtedness?
Perhaps Obama is floundering because he knows he has no other choice. His leadership from behind has bitten us -- the American people -- squarely on the backside. We have no moves to make. The laughable sanctions being imposed on Russia are merely symbolic. After all, how much can you punish someone where you have credit indebtedness?
There is always the chance that Obama knows exactly what he is doing, conspiracy specialists will tell you. Remember, he passed word to Putin through a hot mic conversation with an aide that he would have more flexibility after he was re-elected.
Is this all part of the plan? Did Obama purposely make us vulnerable through debt and inaction? With the least transparent administration in the history of the U.S., perhaps we will never truly know.
In any event, we, as proud Americans are forced to eat crow at Putin's table because the leader of the free world isn't much of one.
While it would be nice to have a leader who would stand up to Putin -- like Reagan did with Gorbachev in demanding he "tear down the Berlin Wall or JFK did in calling Khrushchev bluff in the Cuban Missile Crisis -- and let the Russian Bear know that we will stand by our allies and always defend the weaker nations around the globe, we, as a nation need to re-group and pick a new team captain.
We can't win this game with a president who shows by his inaction that he doesn't love his own country the way Putin loves his. Obama's wishy-washy leadership style will surely cause unnecessary casualties abroad.
And how long before it becomes a reality here on our own soil like 9/11, if not worse?
Unlike Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Barack Hussein Obama is no commander in chief. Perhaps, it is best that Obama sticks to what he knows best: Providing analysis of his picks for the Final Four March Madness NCAA college basketball tournament.
Unlike Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Barack Hussein Obama is no commander in chief. Perhaps, it is best that Obama sticks to what he knows best: Providing analysis of his picks for the Final Four March Madness NCAA college basketball tournament.
Maybe, if Putin doesn't go beyond Crimea, this will be our time out.
Make no mistake though: What Putin has done is a wake-up call and demonstrates Americans need and are eager for a new captain. Americans need to rally for a comeback in 2016, and leave the likes of Barack Obama, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton in the dust.
FAST FACTS: Leaders with guts: Ronald Reagan & John F. Kennedy
Reagan's Berlin Wall Speech /
JFK's Cuban Missile Crisis / Did You Know?
-- After graduating from Leningrad State University in 1975, Vladimir Putin began his career in the KGB as an intelligence officer. Stationed mainly in East Germany, he held that position until 1989.
-- In December 1999, Boris Yeltsin resigned as president of Russia and appointed Putin acting president until official elections were held (in early 2000).
-- In September 2001, in response to the terrorist attacks on the United States, Putin announced Russia's stance as a U.S. ally. Soon after, however, he announced his opposition—along with the French and German governments—to the U.S. "war on terror," which focused on ridding Iraq of its then-leader, Saddam Hussein.
--- Crimea, the peninsula in Ukraine on the northeast coast of the Black Sea, invaded by Russian forces on March 3, had been part of Russia until Nikita Khrushchev, former premier of the Soviet Union, gave it to Ukraine in 1954.
Source: Biography.com
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About the blogger: Michelle Collins
Michele Collins,
US and Them
Collins, 43, of Deltona, Fla, is the newest political blogger for Headline Surfer®, the award-winning 24/7 internet newspaper serving the Daytona Beach/Orlando metro area via HeadlineSurfer.com and owned by Publisher Henry Frederick. Collins was born and raised in Sanford, Fla., where she was known to her friends as "Missy" Eister. She studied finance at the former Seminole Community College (now Seminole State College) and is a principal with Approved Mortgage Source, LLC. Collins, an avowed "conservative," is a strong believer in God, country and family. She is the proud mother of three children, one grown and two in high school. Her middle child will leave home after graduation to attend Florida State University.