#Putin’s excellent Ukraine crisis and other commentary

Foreign desk: Vlad’s Excellent Ukraine Crisis

“Vladimir Putin is having a good crisis in Ukraine,” Walter Russell Mead notes at The Wall Street Journal. “Ukraine is popular issue in Russia,” and the standoff “is making Russia feel great again,” as many are “nostalgic for the old days of the empire,” to which Ukraine was “integral.” Plus, the confrontation “divides American opinion even as it unites Russians.” Putin has more “angles to play,” too, as “India’s relationship with Russia, boosted by Indian dismay over the hasty American withdrawal from Afghanistan, is a significant problem for Washington’s Indo-Pacific policy.” So it’s been “all gain” for Putin so far. But now, will he let “the crisis cool quietly” or “continue to turn up the temperature?”

Liberal: Joe’s Economic Ratings Below Jimmy’s

While President Biden’s “approval rating is down on a slew of issues, his difficulties are perhaps most noticeable on the economy,” observes CNN’s Harry Enten: He “now sports the lowest net economic rating of any president at this point through their first term since at least Jimmy Carter in 1977.” Inflation, in particular, is hurting him: “Just 28% of Americans approved of the job he is doing to handle inflation in a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll,” even “as more voters said they were concerned about inflation than any other issue.” And only 22 percent “said the Biden administration efforts to get inflation and rising prices under control were helping.” Ouch.

Libertarian: Biden’s Useless Car Chargers

“As part of its recently passed infrastructure bill, the Biden administration plans to spend $7.5 billion building 500,000 chargers for electric vehicles,” says Reason’s Joe Lancaster. But two barriers to widespread adoption of electric vehicles remain: cost and range. “Only five varieties of electric vehicles” now have “a range of more than 350 miles per charge, and none of them retail for a base price of less than $47,000.” “Conveniently placed vehicle chargers could mitigate the range issue,” but the Bidenites will probably purchase slow-working Level 2 chargers. But people won’t to switch to electric cars unless they function like gas-powered cars. “Spending billions on chargers that take an entire afternoon to charge a vehicle is not the way to do that.”

Conservative: Big Grocery? Seriously, Liz?

Powerline’s John Hinderaker mocks Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s latest fits of performative populism: “First she accused Elon Musk of being a tax freeloader, just before he disclosed that he will pay $11 billion in taxes this year,” a US record. Then “she blamed skyrocketing food prices on ‘Big Grocery’ ” by tweeting that “giant grocery store chains force high food prices.” Notes Hinderaker notes: “The grocery store business is notoriously competitive and relatively unprofitable.” Yet Dems keep insisting that “we have suddenly been beset by a plethora of capitalist conspiracies,” from “Big Oil . . . exploding gasoline prices” to automakers causing higher prices and now this — implying it’s mere “coincidence” that the conspiracies came amid “the Biden administration’s wild money-printing and spending spree.”

From the right: Dems Grow More Dangerous

“Democrats appear to be slipping further into their own delusions” after Sen. Joe Manchin killed Build Back Better, warns Oliver Wiseman at Unherd. “Calls for changes to the rules governing America’s system of government” are rising, with AOC wanting to “crack down” on the “very privileged, very entitled and very protected” Senate and Sen. Chuck Schumer pivoting to push “a bill that would overhaul US voting laws.” It’s not just that “you’re more likely to complain about the quality of the refereeing when you’re losing.” Without “the unpopularity of Donald Trump” to run against, “it is far from clear they can put together a coalition of voters broad enough to hold on to both chambers of Congress.” Hence the “return to something they can all agree on: the wickedness of the other side.”

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board