From Russia with Laughter...

London: Greenwich Hospital from the North Bank of the Thames by Canaletto

Last week a US Presidential Candidate received a lesson of Foreign Affairs from no other than Dmitry Medvedev, the incumbent Russian President.

Presidents Obama and Medvedev were “caught” by an open microphone having an interesting dialogue: President Obama would have more flexibility after his election, and President Medvedev understood and would convey the message to Mr Putin.  

Political analysts and rightist politicians (mainly in the US) immediately reacted (as opposed to thinking and analysing first). Mitt Romney, in his reaction, went as far as saying “The president mentioned missile defense to Medvedev as one area where the Kremlin should expect more flexibility. This is alarming.” and “If he (...) suggests to Russia that he has things he's willing to do with them, he's not willing to tell the American people - this is to Russia, this is, without question, our number one geopolitical foe”

The Republican Party could’ve come up with better candidates than the ones it is offering. All of them represent the Old America that the world doesn’t respect and is unwilling to work with (which could prompt countries to snub the US and, follow the example of other nations by inventing economic & political blocs among themselves). Whether one likes it or not, President Obama set the diplomatic bar high: the world likes him and is more than willing to work with him (because he represents the New America; the America of the 21^st century that the whole globe respects [including her opponents] and is willing to follow).

Mitt Romney made two gross mistakes:

1. He showed that he not only doesn’t read into the diplomatic and security conjuncture but he also fails to make the proper correlations. President Bush signed agreements to place missile interceptors in Poland and the Czech Republic (to fill a gap in its anti-missile defence to shield US interests in Europe from potential threats) when there were indicators that Iran was developing long-range ballistic missiles; however, when President Obama took office, the US Intelligence assessed that Iran was focusing on short-range ballistic missiles instead (rendering thus the European deployment  unnecessary for the moment). Russia had felt threatened by Pres. Bush’s plan (she assumed the US would use the radars to spy on her); and Russia was more relaxed when Pres. Obama reversed the whole matter. There is a complex context in which falls the conversation between the two presidents in South Korea, but Mitt Romney by wanting to politically capitalise from it embarrassed himself.

2. He proved that he represents ancient America, by revealing that his mind is still in the cold war period (presently, Russia is so not the US number one geopolitical foe). Moreover he put the whole world en garde (i.e. brace yourselves; good relations with America are coming to an end). Mitt Romney doesn’t comprehend that the world is changing and that the old American rhetoric doesn’t intimidate anyone any longer and, if (God forbid) he gets elected into office it won’t definitely help him reach his goal “This century must be an American century”.

So what was the result of Mitt Romney’s silly reaction? He (and the Republican Party, by proxy) was disparaged by Russia:

“I recommend that all US presidential candidates... do at least two things: that they use their head and consult their reason when they formulate their positions, and that they check the time - it is now 2012, not the mid-1970s.” (Dmitry Medvedev, March 2012)

Yes, Mr Romney definitely represents the Old America that no one likes or respects.

May God help us all if he ever becomes the next US Commander-in-chief.