A lot of ink has been spilled in the few days since Joe Biden said that Putin “cannot remain in power.” The line was unscripted, falling naturally at the end of an impassioned speech, a call to action in the battle between autocracies and democracies. In the days that followed, Biden’s condemnation of Putin has been called a “gaffe,” an “escalation,” “weak and sick” — this last from a Russian official — and worse. We can debate the merits of the line itself: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” In some ways, it’s a passive expression: not “I won’t allow this man to remain in power”; not “we will help those Russians who seek to oust this man from power”; not “this man is an illegitimate dictator who must be driven from power.” None of the above. It was a statement without a policy, a strategy, or much intention.

As it happens, I agree with Joe Biden. Putin cannot remain
in power. But the how is the question
for the leader of the free world, and he seems completely unprepared — nay,
uninterested — in answering the query. As an aside, though it deserves more,
the right way to drive Putin from power is to shine a light on his murders, his
corruption, his lawlessness, and to help those Russians (Navalny, Kara-Murza,
so many more), and foreigners — Ukraine! — who have had the courage to stand up
to him. But for the moment, this is not the point I hope to highlight. Rather,
what should be a source of shock and anger to the American people, regardless
of party, is that for the umpteenth time, the White House staff repudiated the
words of the duly elected president of the United States.

I am not a Biden supporter (in the most partisan sense of
the word). Having known him on and off for three decades, I’d say he’s lost a
step, and he was a pretty incoherent sort of a fellow to begin with. But in our
democracy, he is the boss. He is the elected leader. As someone once reminded
me years ago, the executive branch is a dictatorship, and the president is the
dictator. That is right. And the habit of the unelected within the White House
of “walking back” the president’s statements, redefining them, rewording,
explaining away, and otherwise contradicting him is intolerable.

Do these functionaries believe the president mentally
incompetent? Incapable of a clear thought? Unstable? If so, do please let the
rest of America know. If they do not, then it is time for an adult within the
president’s circle or his party to have words with the man himself. This second-guessing
must stop. It is prompting doubts in foreign nations that the president is all there;
it is prompting exploitation and celebration among our adversaries; it is just
wrong.

And PS to the President’s staff: Yes, Putin must not remain in power. Now match the commander in chief’s words to policy and strategy.

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