Putin wants Russia to be a superpower; Obama wants to be elected

http://terrellaftermath.com/

The American Interest:  Obama Bets Ranch on Weak Syrian Hand; Putin Calls

"The Obama administration dialed up its rhetoric on Syria in recent months, but it hasn’t matched U.S. words with action. Russia has noticed the chasm between U.S. words and will and has seen an opportunity:"

Obama-Putin Meeting Brings Chill to Mexico  "The G-20 meeting was a missed opportunity to recognize that the “reset” policy has indeed reset U.S.-Russia relations—back to the Cold War—and is in dire need of reassessment. For starters, Obama should have told Putin that Russian cooperation on Iran and Syria are the litmus test of the U.S.-Russian relations.

"Unfortunately, however, the president could not do even that."