Economy in free fall

as Russian leader’s

popularity peaks

President Vladimir Putin is trashed by global money managers as Russians applaud.

As the Russian economy was slammed on global financial markets, the man at the center of the storm had a big smile on his face.
The Moscow Times reported Tuesday that Russians had just named President Vladimir Putin the ‘politician of the year’ for the 15th consecutive time.
As investors ran for the exits and the currency collapsed, a whiff of panic swept financial markets from east to west after the failure of a dramatic, midnight attempt by the Russian central bank to stem the flood with a massive interest rate hike.
The irony is rich. As his political popularity at home reaches new heights, Putin is getting trashed by money managers everywhere.

COVERAGE OF SYRIA DEAL HIGHLIGHTS AMERICA’S SECOND-FIDDLE STATUS
As Americans try to assess the short- and long-term implications of the deal on Syria, those most affected by the crisis (excluding the Syrians themselves) seem to have already made up their minds.
Russia won. The U.S. lost.
The influence of the United States is at its lowest ebb in generations here.
The Russian-initiated deal that leaves Syria’s president intact after he gassed his own people is just another nail in the coffin of waning U.S. ability to influence events in this troubled region.

GIVING DIPLOMACY A CHANCE STRENGTHENS HIS HAND
It was not a fireside chat, but President Barack Obama was at his best Tuesday evening when he laid out his case for a military strike against Syria.
He also demonstrated his wisdom: he realized the Congress and a skeptical public needs more time to get with the program.
The president was right on every point he presented.
Let us hope the message gets through to those who need to hear it loudest.