Lies have consequences.  And the lies told by the Obama administration about Russia for the past four years, lies which can be characterized only as Goebbels-like propaganda, have had devastating consequences indeed.

Polls show that from the moment Vladimir Putin took power, Americans began to think ill of Russia.  Throughout the Gorbachev years, the American view of Russia as an enemy was waning, and when Boris Yeltsin took power for the first time, more Americans reported viewing Russia as a friendly country, or even an ally, than saw it as unfriendly or an enemy.  By the middle of the Yeltsin term in office, the gap in Russia's favor had become enormous.

But throughout the Putin years this process reversed itself, so that by 2008, significantly more Americans saw Russia as a threat than as a balm.  In fact, the process began even before Putin, when Americans were shocked to see Yeltsin bomb his own parliament building and give virulent support to the genocidal maniacs in Serbia, which Russians look on as their "little brother."  To top that off, of course, Yeltsin named Putin, a proud KGB spy, as his successor.

Then Barack Obama took power and placed Michael McFaul in charge of his Russia policy, which soon came to be labeled as "reset."  McFaul and Obama deluged Americans with brazen lies for four years, telling them that Putin was no longer in charge of Russia; that a new generation led by Dmitri Medvedev, the new president, had taken power; and that this generation could be trusted and befriended.

Obama munched cheeseburgers with Medvedev, and he made unilateral concessions to Russia on missile defense in Europe, telling Americans that this was the best way to prove to Medvedev that America did not threaten him and wanted friendship.  Obama promised us that, once convinced, Medvedev would reciprocate.

As Obama leaves office, that lie is exposed for all to see.  Medvedev openly admitted that he had never had real power, that he and Putin had conspired to use his presidency as a façade so that Putin could continue to wield all real power behind the scenes, returning to formal control as soon as the constitution allowed him to do so.  Russia continued supporting the America-hating rogue regimes of the Middle East, the better to juice the price of oil and line its coffers, and as Putin returned to office, a whole new era of anti-Americanism began.  Hillary Clinton, Obama's own secretary of state, called Russia "despicable" for supporting mass murder of women and children in Syria.

But if you think that means the lies from Obama and McFaul are over, you'd best think again.

On April 19, McFaul tweeted triumphantly that Americans were in love with Russia, and therefore Obama's policy of conciliation was clearly justified.  Obama, for instance, is obstructing passage of a bill designed to punish Russia for the torture and murder of anti-corruption crusader Sergei Magnitsky, while pushing hard for the repeal of the Jackson-Vanik strictures regarding human rights in dealing with Russia.  He called Putin and congratulated him on his return to power, and he has cold-shouldered the Russian democracy movement as well as the targets of Russian aggression like Georgia and Ukraine.

In his breathless tweets, McFaul cited recent polls from CNN and Gallup which showed that 61% of Americans see Russia as friendly or an ally and only 2% see it as America's top enemy (37% see it as unfriendly or an enemy).  The latter was clearly a sharp partisan jab at Mitt Romney, who has announced that he wants to educate Americans about the terrifying threats that Russia poses to American security.  McFaul also cited a post on the Foreign Policy blog entitled "Russia, the Not-So-Evil Empire."

Neither McFaul nor Washington Post scribe Scott Clement, author of the FP post, paused for a second to consider the fact that Americans were simply guilty of trusting their president's statements about Medvedev and change in Russia.  It's hardly surprising that after four years of such propaganda, many Americans adopt such a view on Russia, and McFaul is still working aggressively to squelch the truth. And, of course, neither McFaul nor Obama has done anything to publicize both's mischaracterization of Medvedev's position or to confront the disturbing implications of Putin's return to power.

Nor did either one review the facts concerning Russia's conduct towards the United States.  House Speaker John Boehner laid them out starkly after he was jolted by Obama's disturbing statements to Medvedev promising many more unilateral concessions after his re-election was secured.  Boehner stated:

The Russian government has not lived up to its obligations to support the world community in reining in the rogue nations of Iran, Syria, and North Korea.  On the contrary, Russia has at times offered support for these dangerous regimes.  And it is increasingly evident that Russia is intent on expanding its boundaries and power through hostile acts - including invading a neighboring American ally.  It is troubling that you would suggest to Russian leaders that their reckless ambition would be rewarded with greater 'flexibility' on our missile defense program after the upcoming election.  That has significant implications for the security of our homeland, sends a terrible signal to our allies around the world, and calls into question the effectiveness of your 'reset' policy with the Russian government.

If you examine the details of the CNN poll, you see that it was based on a survey of just 500 people, and it has a huge margin of error.  Neither McFaul nor Clement cared to mention that.  What's more, the poll shows a stark difference in the way Democrats view Russia compared to independents and Republicans.  Almost twice as many Democrats see Russia as an ally, and significantly more see Russia as being friendly.  That's because, of course, Democrats are far more eager to drink Obama's Kool-Aid.

But Republicans must accept their share of the blame.  The challenge of Boehner and Romney to Obama's misguided policy has come very late, and only when the two were jolted into action by the shocking statements Obama whispered to Medvedev before a camera he did not know was rolling.  For too long, Republicans allowed Obama to mislead the nation about Russia's nature and its intentions, and this inaction allowed Putin to consolidate his grip on power while Americans were lulled to sleep.

From McFaul's tweets, it is perfectly clear that the Obama administration has no intention of setting the record straight or altering its dangerous policy of appeasement towards a nuclear-fanged nation run by a proud KGB spy which can rightfully be thought of as America's most dangerous opponent.  It is therefore time for Boehner and Romney to show real leadership -- not just for a new cycle, but for an entire presidential election.  It is time to drive Obama and McFaul from power and replace them with a neo-Reaganite foreign policy suitable for a neo-Soviet Russian dictatorship.

The polls McFaul refers to indicate that Americans think China and Iran are bigger threats to the USA than Russia.  That's because Obama and McFaul have worked hard to help hide from American eyes Russia's active support for both Iran and China, as well as Russia's own determined efforts to destroy the values American hold dear.  It is time for the Republicans to expose Obama's lies and bring American policy into line with reality, before irreparable harm is done to American interests.