Here is but one example of such “news” coverage:

: President Barack Obama’s limp foreign policy, his “leading from behind,” and his failure to project American power and influence to areas of our strategic importance has been a virtual invitation to Russian Premier Vladimir Putin to intervene in Ukraine’s unstable political situation and extend the former USSR’s dominion over its former client states.

And this fool isn’t the only one. From Righties like David Brooks on across the ocean of political looniness, there is a collective delusion about the American President’s supposed culpability for the actions of the KGB butcher who is treating Ukrainians as he previously did the Georgians. The only difference is the motivations of the critics.

On the Right, the “reason” can be boiled down to the above quote, and its underlying conceit: that Obama is insufficiently like Bush the Lesser. The Raging Righties in their Tightie Whities think that a Prexy must be a warmonger.

On the Left, the “reason” it’s Obama’s fault is: “because Snowden”. Pooty-Poot gave little Eddie sanctuary from the eeeeeevil authoritarian Obaminator, so Putin just has to be a good guy, even when he invades a sovereign state, because Snowden.

Neither side’s case is logical, sensible, or indeed articulate. Vlad the Impaler 2.0 is invading the Ukraine for reasons based in his Soviet-era ideology, and he’d do the same thing regardless of who happened to be in the Oval Office. Putin. Does. Not. Care. What. Anybody. Else. Thinks.

You can blame Obama for lots of things, but not Putin’s invasion of a foreign nation. That blame rests with Putin, and with Putin alone.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

P.S. It has been pointed out that the Righties are far more into the Obama-bashing on this topic than are the Left, and that this post made it appear equivalent. My apologies. The Right Wingnuts are far more obnoxious, frequent, and extreme than the Left.