Where is the connection between what the State Dept says in public and what Putin may or may not do?
I’m pretty sure he is a supporter of Putin’s Russian Imperial designs. It’s as if he and some of the dumbed down conservatives who never, ever read a conservative book decided that conservatism is not about private property, the rule of law, popular sovereignty, respect for others, civil government, etc. For them, it’s all about hating Obama so blindly that they’ll embrace a crackpot and despot.