Dreams From My Reset

Republicans in Congress, in light of the captured comments of President Obama to Russia's Medvedev that Obama needs "space" from Russia until after the election in order to be more flexible on missile defense issues, are wondering if President Obama has cut a missile deal with Russia that might not be in our interest. Democrats object to worries about what Obama might have done:

Democrats say the Republicans are manufacturing an alleged deal for political gain in the presidential campaign, and that Obama’s comments were merely reflecting the political reality of an election year.

Yet the Democratic defense--as reasonable as it seems on the surface--neglects the fact that Medvedev seemed happy indeed to hear our president explain that after the election our president would have more room to negotiate.

Given the paranoia of Russia about anything we do, anything that seems like a great relief to Medvedev does not fill me with confidence about what President Obama was hinting at. Lord knows what composite Russian leader our president believes exists in Moscow with whom he can make a good deal.

What that "political reality of an election year" is exactly is of great concern to me.