To the Editor:
Many in our area are under the impression that Joe Biden is a doddering fool; an impression gotten from their favorite “news” source, and so they think that Vladimir Putin got the better of the president, forgetting, conveniently, how well Putin did that with the former president.
For these people, here are the words of Putin himself: “Biden is a professional, and you need to work very carefully with him so as not to miss something. He himself does not miss anything, I assure you.”
This was relayed by the Philadelphia Inquirer veteran international columnist, Trudy Rubin, in her June 20 column. Is there a reason for Putin’s positive feedback about Biden?
Ms. Rubin connected with one of the few independent journalists working in Russia, Yevgenia Albats. Simply put, Putin needs the U.S. and no longer has a tool. Russia suffers from serious economic and health problems, and it is not in his interest to buck a serious U.S. president.
Biden does not trust Putin and has said, “This is not about trust,” when asked in advance about the meeting. “This is about self-interest and verification of self-interest. I verify first and then trust.”
Biden laid down red lines concerning hacking and I think Putin knows there will be consequences if he continues to allow private Russian bad actors to hack us. Biden did what he could, and said, “Let’s see what happens.”
We have no doddering fool in the Oval Office. Is the president old? Yes. Has he a stuttering problem since he was young? Yes. Is he an experienced professional? Yes, and that’s what we should want in the Oval Office.
