So picture this scenario. A leader in a fledgling democracy creates a space for himself, a perch above it all from which to tame the beast. Sounds reasonable? Except, wait. No it doesn’t. Remember when George Washington turned down the crown? Remember when he set the two term precedent? That’s a leader. What we’re dealing with is a king. Let’s hope he’s not a tyrant.

Russia has been foundering for decades. It’s not Putin’s fault. He has guided an in-its-own-world country to first world status. Some of his policies have been forward thinking and advantageous. Some have not. Certainly, crime and corruption abound, as they do anywhere there is poverty.

This man is a realist. He is so mathematically intuned to the weight of necessity that he cannot conceive of any other way. Therefore it was completely logical to double down on oil. This is how he justified the Russian pseudo-presence in Ukraine. A direct route to the middle east is simply a matter of national security.

Only it’s not if you are capable of trust. Almost completely by accident, Mr. Putin has given away his entire game. What are the chances that both USA and Iran would bomb similar military targets in Syria/Iraq unless they perceived a similar threat? What is the one thing that could scare Iran into cooperating with the USA? Russia.

Russia recently updated its projected economic growth from +1.2% to -0.8%. That’s gigantic. That’s Christmas, this year and next year, all based on oil speculation, that’s being left holding the bag, just like we were in the housing bust. The Doctors’ Rebellion, a beautiful new chapter in the tradition of Russian mass participation, has resulted in Putin’s government rethinking the massive cuts to heath care. Rock and a hard place. Can’t afford it. Can’t afford to be without it.

Let’s not forget our Russian comrades. Seriously. Who took Berlin? Who stood side by side with us fighting for what’s right? Now their government is cutting everything to pay for a war for oil, because the government has no backup plan. Sound familiar? Let’s liberate our comrades from the insanity. It’s time for an airlift.

Make no mistake. We want Vladimir Putin to step down, but he will not be allowed to hold the Russian people hostage. They do not belong to him. We will sanction his imports and feed his people anyway, and he will be rendered unable to turn his people against us, because we are obviously their friends. Let us hope so, anyway.