Putin and Obama's "slouch, bored kid" remarks

Asked during an August 9 press conference whether he can get 'big stuff done without having a good personal relationship with Russian Preident Vladimir Putin,' President Obama replied: "I don't have a bad personal relationship with Putin... I know the press likes to focus on body language and he's got that kind of slouch, looking like the bored kid in the back of the classroom. But the truth is, is that when we're in conversations together, oftentimes it's very productive."

The UK-Daily Mail, at the time, referred to Obama's comments as "a stunning dismissal of a head of state..."

Mr. Putin, apparently, isn't too happy with Obama's remarks: According to the New York Times, a Russian official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name, said that Mr. Putin was infuriated by Obama's comments.

Perhaps, if the aforementioned slight came from a different U.S President, someone who is not so hell-bent on a reckless policy of appeasement, it would not be that surprising. [Although Rush Limbaugh believes that: "If Bush had said something like this it would be the news of the week and we'd be worried about whether or not nuclear war was about to break out and why in the world is Bush so stupid and insulting a leader like this, why in the world is it happening? Obama says it, and ho-hum."] However, the remarks emanated from Obama, the so-called "diplomat" par excellence, who, at the time, didn't appear to be trying to agitate Putin. "I don't have a bad personal relationship with Putin," Obama said. "When we have conversations, they're candid, they're blunt; oftentimes, they're constructive... The truth is, is that when we're in conversations together, oftentimes it's very productive."

The "diplomat par excellence" appears to be lacking in sensitivity, as he often insults people with his snide remarks and crude speech, like the time he callously took a swipe at Boston Celtic's point guard Rajon Rondo. Or, like the time he called a female reporter "sweetie".

Or, like the innumerable times he has belittled his political adversaries and heaped scorn on various segments of American society. However, when it comes to his political adversaries and various segments of American society, I would not ascribe Obama's crude language to "insensitivity", but rather, to demagogy and being deliberately mean.