Nobody is perfect. Even Brooks Robinson, the great third baseman, committed 263 errors during his career. The only people who never admit mistakes are Internet trolls and Trumpists.
I’ll confess to a big one, and it’s high time I did so:
I bobbled the ball on Vladimir Putin.
OK, it was 10 years ago, but still. During the 2012 presidential campaign, Republican candidate Mitt Romney warned the world that Putin was “without question, our number one geopolitical foe.” Barack Obama, the incumbent, pounced on that assertion during their third debate, uncorking a clearly prepared zinger: “The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back, because the Cold War’s been over for 20 years.”
In response, Romney refused to back down: “I have clear eyes on this. I’m not going to wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to Russia, or Mr. Putin.”
But in my column later that night, I cheered Obama’s remark. After pointing out that Putin supported our sanctions against Iran, and that he was aiding our war in Afghanistan by allowing us and NATO to transport military materiel on his rail lines, I called Romney a “Cold War retread” who was “blustering in ignorance at an important semi-ally.”
My critique does not appear to have aged well. Today’s New York Times front page looks like something from 1941.
Granted, I have plenty of company. Three years ago, in fact, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who had earlier assailed Romney, stated: “I personally owe an apology to now-Senator Romney, because I think that we underestimated what was going on in Russia.” Earlier this week, former Obama operative David Axelrod said, “There’s no other way to look at it. Romney had a point.” This past Monday, California Democratic congressman Ted Lieu said: “This action by Putin further confirms that Mitt Romney was right when he called Russia the number one geopolitical foe.” Two days ago, political commentator Matt Taibbi apologized for writing that Putin was not evil enough to invade Ukraine: “I didn’t bother to take this possibility seriously enough. To readers who trust me not to make those misjudgments, I’m sorry.”
I’ll try to do better. Looking ahead, for instance:
I could suggest that Putin, even as he soaks his hands in Ukrainian blood, has badly underestimated western resolve; that even if he installs a puppet regime, he’ll still face an intractable insurgency; that he’ll be an international pariah, weakened in status by his crimes; and that brave antiwar protests inside Russia – already in abundance – will grow in fervor and imperil his iron grip.
I like that scenario. Please don’t let me be wrong again.