Crimea Much Ado About Nothing

Crimea is still in the news. So far only a single death. Baby strollers are more deadly than Putin.

The left is so anxious for things to get worse so that the stock market falls that they are front-running events that have not even happened yet, or so show no signs of happening. Like the coverage over the Malaysia 370 flight, speculation has become the news instead of stuff that has actually..um..happened. Ever since Putin put troops on the border, it has been pretty much a standstill yet the media would have you think it’s the German invasion of Poland all over again.

The big headline is Why You Shouldn’t Believe Vladimir Putin When He Says He Doesn’t Want To Invade Eastern Ukraine

Is he bluffing, or is he not? Does it matter? Not so much to me. Not so much on Wall St. or Silicon Valley. That’s why stocks have brushed it off and keep going up. If I had to put money on this, I would wager there will no further escalation, as has been the case for the past month. If the other shoes drops, I will not sell my stocks; instead; I’ll be buying oil and gasoline futures because those will go up the most. If the media only stuck to writing about stuff it knows instead of speculation it would have very little to write regarding Crimea. Maybe Putin wanted Crimea for the Russian naval bases. Or maybe this is revenge for the U.S Bombing of Kosovo. Who knows.

Are Obama and Putin friends? Hardly. Obama is an avowed wealth spreader while Putin is a rapacious capitalist and nationalist. Unlike Obama, Putin isn’t too tolerant of homosexuality or liberal cultural deviancy. Here’s a little gem from 2009 of Putin excoriating Obama for adopting socialist policies.

“Any fourth grade history student knows socialism has failed in every country, at every time in history,” said Putin. “President Obama and his fellow Democrats are either idiots or deliberately trying to destroy their own economy.”

Obama risks making the situation worse by overreacting. Putin isn’t scared of sanctions because he will raise energy prices and it will backfire on Obama after Europe gets pushed into a recession. Obama, not Putin will look like the bad guy. Europe depends on Russia for 40 percent of its imported fuel. Oil and natural gas prices will surge. Gas prices in America may reach $5 a gallon. This will make Obama look worse than he already his, not just in America, but abroad and could cost the democratic party the presidential election in 2016. Republicans and libertarians need to stand up for Russia’s sovereignty rather than let the left drug us into an economic standoff.

From the Financial Times

Paolo Scaroni, chief executive of Eni, the Italian oil and gas group, said Italy, Austria and the south of Germany would be particularly at risk since they were principal markets for Russian gas piped through Ukraine. About 16 per cent of Europe’s gas consumption provided by Russia through Ukraine.

Putin has the leverage, not Obama.

The left would want nothing more than to see Russia fail so that Putin and his oligarchs lose a lot of money. They want Putin to overplay his hand; instead, he’s meticulously waiting for Obama to finish painting himself into a corner.

Bush at least commanded mutual respect among global leaders for his duration of office, even though his poll numbers sagged during his final term. Obama conveys weakness, not just in America, but abroad. He’s emboldening our foes and making our allies uneasy. Doing nothing would have been more effective than sanctions that could backfire economically.