#1: Russia
"Russia has to make some very difficult, calculated decisions. They have a shrinking population base, they have a withering economy, they have a banking sector and structure that is not likely to be able to withstand the next 15 years, they're in a situation where the world is changing before them and they're clinging to something in the past that is not sustainable." (WSJ interview 7/25/09)
Wow. Could Joe Biden have possibly said anything worse? Well, sure, and he did... in the same interview Biden quipped, "I can see Putin sitting in Moscow saying, 'Jesus Christ, Iran gets the nuclear weapon, who goes first?' Moscow, not Washington." Even seasoned journo vets like Bill Schneider were flabbergasted by the vice president's latest gaffe. On one hand, you could say that Joe really messed up, that no foreign relations point-guard should ever say such a thing (regardless of how true it may be). Obama's trip to Russia wasn't exactly heralded, but it was certainly a step forward from the previous administration. But as you can imagine, Russia was not impressed with this outburst. Kremlin foreign policy advisor Sergei Prikhodko implored, "It raises the question: Who is shaping U.S. foreign policy? The president or members of his team, even the most respected ones?" The newspaper Kommersant added that "Joe Biden unexpectedly returned to the rhetoric of the previous Bush administration." Good going.
Yet, one could also see Biden's remarks as somewhat strategic. Even the Kommersant newspaper recognized the clamor of international critics who saw Obama's administration as "too soft on Russia." As you recall, Obama received a letter from former leaders in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Romania accusing him of such softness -- just before Biden left. Was Biden just exposing Plan B?
#2: Ukrainian Women
"I cannot believe that a Frenchman visiting Kiev went back home and told his colleagues he discovered something and didn't say he discovered the most beautiful women in the world. That's my observation. It's certain you have so many beautiful women." (7/21/09)
I bet Jill Biden was real pleased that Joe was oogling women in other nations while she was patiently waiting at home, recovering from orthopedic surgery and speaking about education. Who knows what the VP was thinking -- maybe he was just overcome, maybe he thought it'd sound off-the-cuff charming, maybe he just didn't really want to talk about Ukraine's boring preoccupation with the NATO bid.
#3: Georgia
“The Rose Revolution will only be complete when the government is transparent, accountable and fully participatory; when issues are debated inside this chamber, not only out on the street; when you fully address key constitutional issues regarding the balance of power between the Parliament and executive branch and leveling your electoral playing field; when the media is totally independent and professional, providing people the information to make informed decisions and to hold their government accountable for the decisions it makes; when the courts are free from outside influence and rule of law is firmly established and when the transfer of power occurs through peaceful, constitutional and democratic processes, not on the street.”
After Biden's "historic" speech, Saakashvili said that, frankly, he was "very moved." One has to wonder if Saakashvili realized this was a bit of a diss. Despite Biden's typically reckless way, it seemed he was careful of encouraging a more democratic way in Georgia, without really being insulting about it. Durign his speech, he still had a lot of praise and assurances for his old buddy Saakasvili. He spread Obama's message that America stands for the sovereignty of Georgia, while condemning separatist movements in South Ossetia and Abkhazia and making mention of the fact that (no pressure but) "the whole world is watching" how Georgia's quest for democracy will turn out.
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