Not for himself, it’s beyond his capability. But he is capable of setting it up for somebody else who is smart enough to see an opening and step into it. Enter Vladimir Putin, formerly of the KGB. Thanks to our young president’s inept handling of his Syria mess, Putin has assumed the role of an international grownup.

First BHO drew a red line in the sand. Then he claimed it wasn’t his red line, meaning he recognized he couldn’t take credit for anything at that point. Or more likely somebody else told him. Or somebody else told him to draw a red line in the first place. Regardless, he’s the president and owns it. Then Kerry answered a reporter’s question and said bombing could be averted if Syria gave up their nerve gas. Then Kerry said it was just hypothetical, but by then Putin seized upon it. So between a reporter’s question, Kerry’s answer that was really a gaffe, and Putin recognizing the wonderful opportunity it gave him, our foreign policy was shaped.

This is what passes for leadership these days.

The ineptitude is a direct result of electing a showboat. Twice. And showboats tend to sink when placed in the water for real. We have a real problem on our hands. We have a president who after five years is behaving like a rookie who has been on the job for two months, and we’re stuck with him for another three years. Fortunately, we have Putin to bail us out. We’ll have to endure Putin lecturing us on our non-exceptionalsm, but thanks to Obama he kind of has a point.