Biden’s gaffe, Putin’s graves

In this topsy-turvy, unpredictable pandemic world we live in, where a slap is the attention at a major event, we should not be surprised that a comment from President Biden about President Putin can distract from the horrific combat in Ukraine. But when Biden, at the end of his recent speech in Poland, stated that “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” he may have given the GOP another weapon in their quest to win the midterm election.

That aim to make the midterm contest theirs was obviously in play as Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee did all they could to unsettle Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. And that ploy may be as stillborn as the current blasting of Biden for his remark about Putin, which he explained was merely an expression of his “moral outrage” with no intention of suggesting a regime change.

Of course, the Kremlin, too, wasted little time taking umbrage at Biden’s unscripted words, and they may just fuel more discontent and further convince Putin of the wrongheaded notion of the U.S.’s renewal of a Cold War.
Biden’s heartfelt feelings about the ravage of Ukraine and the merciless attack that has taken on genocidal proportions were suddenly overshadowed by his assertion about Putin’s actions and loomed as another distraction in the turmoil that has left thousands of casualties and uncountable toll on cities of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, a new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll released on Monday showed that in a matchup with Biden, Trump leads Biden by 6%, 47-to-41 with 12% of voters undecided. Vice President Kamala Harris fares even worse commanding 38% of support.

What this portends is based on a huge hypothetical—will Biden seek a second term? He would be 81, although age may be a lesser concern if the GOP continues to find ammo in his off-the-cuff remarks.
But back to the devastating conflict in Ukraine where the Russians have apparently shifted their strategy after being dealt a severe setback from the courageous Ukrainian forces. It was reported on Sunday that the Ukrainians had taken back large segments of territory surrounding the capital, Kyiv, and gained momentum stalling the Russian advance.

Even so, the rain of missiles continues to deliver horrendous damage to the lives and property of the besieged nation with no end in sight. And it becomes increasingly difficult to determine what exactly the end game is for Putin and his military.

If Biden is forced to walk back his comments perhaps Putin needs to walk back his savage unprovoked destruction of Ukraine. A glimmer of hope arose on Tuesday as Moscow announced it was planning to reduce its bombardment in order to allow peace talks to occur.