All the seasoned political reporters I know in Washington expect embarassing news to be released on a holiday, or when more enticing fare is on the TV. Putin is as western as they come, and knows how to manipulate the media. He must be chuckling now, wondering why it’s so ease.

Then there are the Putin comments, accusing the west of arrogance and deceipt…basically using the “Big Lie” method of the nazis to good effect. It worked well for the Soviets for 40 years, faking riots over missile defense, convincing Arabs that the west was the real evil, and pretending to be a world power for decades, until Reagan declared that the emporer had no clothes, and the whole facade crashed down.

Now, Russia is up to her old tricks. And the press is in China drooling over swimmers and syncronized diving. Maybe we deserve to be mocked after all!