Remember back in the 1990's, when all it took to attempt to remove a President from office was a fib about a personal indiscretion? As the country - or at least its official organs, including the press - were consumed by the specter of a President engaging in extra-marital oral relations (horror of horrors!), there were some who wondered if such a single-minded focus on such a ridiculous incident might not be distracting. The world was still a dangerous place. In the midst of all the hot air, Al Qaeda bombed American embassies in Africa, remember, and Republicans laughed and screamed "Wag the Dog!" at Clinton's response. Until, of course, 9/11, when they screamed at him for lobbing a few missiles. The poor guy couldn't win with some people.
The various departments and agencies of the Executive Branch of our federal government continue to function in the midst of these storms, yet with the distractions of various issues and controversies, they can be left rudderless, with important decisions left unmade, and possible policy alternatives not considered in the heat and light of various media firestorms. As various priorities consume more and more time and official energy, other things often fall under the radar, things that maybe, just maybe, might cause us concern somewhere down the road. I offer, as exhibit "A", this story of Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to remove Russia from a Treaty regarding conventional weapons limitations in Europe. Ever since Pres. Bush first met the Russian President, looked in to his eyes and saw his soul, it has become evident to most other people that, in fact, Putin probably doesn't have one. Increasingly authoritarian and arbitrary, to the point of engendering a nascent cult of personality, the Russian President is attempting to revive Russian fortunes as a major power. Aided by the recovery of the Russian economy and the silencing of dissent and public discourse through official repression, Russia is trying to become, once again, if not a superpower, certainly a major factor in regional politics. If it succeeds, we can chalk up "the return of the Cold War with Russia" as another success of the Bush years, along with "losing the war with Iraq", "shredding the Constitution", and "allowing Al Qaeda to regain all its former, pre-9/11 strength". The reasons for all of these, while rooted partly in the ideology of ultimate executive power propagated by Cheney, John Yoo, Alberto Gonzalez, and practiced by the President, are practically rooted in our continued presence in Iraq.
As we continue to bleed our military, physically, in terms of morale and strategic strength, it seems the Russians are taking the opportunity to bluster and assert their historic prerogatives in Eastern and central Europe. Meanwhile, we have to listen to nincompoops like Joe Lieberman talk about how wonderful our presence in Iraq is; we have to listen to psychotics like Cheney tell Congress and the American people to go, well, you know the quote; we have to go through the motions of dealing with the struggle between Congress and the Executive even as both the President and his most vocal supporters insist the only threat on the horizon comes from radical Islam, even as Russia gins up not just the rhetoric, but the reality of a more tense, more militarized Central Europe. Were we led by sane, competent people - or even insane competent people - we might actually be paying more attention to this than we are. Alas and alack, we are not in a position to do much of anything other than say, "Gee, that's too bad." Because we are distracted.
