After a peaceful, hope-filled interlude when Pope Francis visited the United States, we go back to the realities of the world. Catholics cheered, smiled and thoroughly enjoyed the pontiff's visit. It was the most fun they were allowed to have without having to ask forgiveness at their next confession.
The pope's message of peace was followed by an attempt at diplomacy by Vladimir Putin. When Putin visited the United Nations, he opened his speech with "My fellow future Russians."
He actually made sense in his speech, and he followed it with a thoughtful sit-down interview with Scott Pelley of "60 Minutes." It was the most penetrating interview Putin had ever had with a man who was not hog-tied to a chair.
Putin met with our feckless "world leader," President Obama, for 90 minutes last week. Obama was shocked to find out afterward that Russia began bombing ISIS targets in Syria, supposedly in support of its ally Bashar al-Assad.
No one is sure what Obama is doing in Syria. Ever since he engaged in faux bravado by saying that, if Assad used chemical weapons against his people, it would be crossing a "red line" - and then did nothing when Assad gassed thousands - Obama has no credibility in the area. After 250,000 deaths in Syria and countless refugees flooding into Europe, the world views the Obama administration as weak, ambiguous and unreliable. Putin sees that and fills the void.
Putin told Obama he would commence bombing ISIS and told him to stay away. I think we know who rules the playground here. Putin knocked out the ISIS/terrorist command center in Syria first thing. Where Obama pussyfoots around, Putin gets it done.
Secretary of State John Kerry is so ineffective at diplomacy that he could not break up a ketchup fight at his in-laws' Heinz family picnic. When Kerry and Hillary whined about Russia taking over a portion of Ukraine, Putin said: "Crimea river."
Unlike the USA, foreign countries have no deference to affirmative action when dealing with Obama. It's the real world out there, and it's dangerous. Obama is always played internationally as a fool. There is not one place in the world where we are better off than when he took office: Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Russia, Crimea, North Korea, China, the Gaza Strip, Israel, North Africa, Syria, etc.
Obama has been outwitted - again - and seems to always have us on the defensive with his "lead from behind" strategy. He has combined the worst of George W. Bush without the best of Bush. Being a weak and unreliable ally, Obama thinks he can win conflicts with a speech to the UN.
And we are starting to learn the essence of the Obama Doctrine: When confronted by a world crisis, raise taxes on Americans and blame global warming.
This all began when Edward Snowden emerged and showed Americans that this administration was spying on us more than on adversaries like Russia and Iran.
Bush got along with Putin; Obama hasn't. When Obama and Putin meet, there is always that awkward photo op when they look like they have reached that point in a bad E-Harmony date when each realizes the other looks nothing like his online photo.
Putin sized up Obama pretty quickly as a man who ascended to our presidency with scant accomplishments, on the shoulders of America's racial guilt. Obama does not have the leftist media covering for him overseas and thus is left bare with just the facts and reality. He is not used to being challenged or provoked. Obama had best toughen up; in Putin's Russia, the national bird is the middle finger.
Ron Hart is a syndicated op-ed humorist, author and TV and radio commentator. Contact him at Ron@RonaldHart.com.