In an article in Politico on October 2 titled, "Obama's Trash Talk," Edward-Isaac Dovere writes regarding President Obama's statements at that day's press conference:

"Putin, meanwhile, is just a liar," Obama said, "a silly, weakened, ridiculous liar, as anyone could see." Obama smacked away statements the Russian president made in public and in private in their Monday sitdown. He even did a double shot of mine’s-bigger-than-yours, tearing into the size and growth of the Russian economy and noting with pleasure that though Putin seemed confident in his America-bashing, Assad-supporting address to the General Assembly in New York, “I didn’t see after that speech at the United Nations suddenly that 60-nation coalition we have lining up behind him.”

Trash Talking is fine when your name is Muhammad Ali and you have not only the ability, but also the willingness to use your fists to win the day. If your name is Barack Obama and you are President of the United States, you may have the ability in the form of the world's finest military, but the willingness and intellect to back up your trash talk with effective actions just isn't your forte.

Trash talking without substance to back it up appears to be a common theme with President Obama. We all can recall his comment to Governor Mitt Romney during the presidential debates, when Romney opined that Russia might be the biggest threat to the United States and world stability. Obama snarked back, "The 1980s called and they want their foreign policy back." Recent events have proven Governor Romney right and President Obama's trash talk to be ill informed and out of place. Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, is indeed a threat and growing more so each day.

More recently, when queried about the potential of ISIS to cause major disruption in Southwest Asia, President Obama referred to them as a "JV Team." That "JV Team" appears to have gotten the full attention of two major powers and a host of not-so-major ones. Again, the president's trash talk is not in line with the facts on the ground or his own actual performance.

During the same news conference where he badmouthed Putin, President Obama warned Russia that it was being sucked into a quagmire like the U.S. in Iraq and Afghanistan -- or perhaps he meant the Soviet Union's involvement in the that tribal nation.

It would be interesting, indeed, if President Obama was comparing the current Russian effort in Syria to the Soviet Union's 10-year debacle in Afghanistan that resulted not only a huge cost in blood and treasure, but an ignominious defeat that was a major factor in the dissolution of the USSR. Such a comparison is only useful in so far as it can be contrasted with the current situation in Syria and the evidence there that the Russians have learned some things from their misadventure in Afghanistan.

The most critical lesson the Russians appear to have learned is that when it comes to actual ground operations, use someone else's troops where possible. In this case, Russia is using Syrian regular forces along with Iranian Quds (Special Operations) forces. Retired General Jack Keene, former commander of all NATO Forces, described the current ground situation, and what is likely to happen next, in an interview on October 4th on FOX News. He explained how Syrian forces, augmented by the Iranians and supported from the air, were about to achieve a breakout against the "moderate" rebel forces supported by the U.S. and currently arrayed against the northern line of forces still loyal to Assad.

Meanwhile, at that October 2nd, press conference, President Obama touted a 60 nation coalition... a coalition that has flown very few airstrikes and achieved little if any results, especially when compared to what Putin's Air Force is doing after arriving but a short time ago.

Dovere writes further:

“Mr. Putin had to go into Syria not out of strength, but out of weakness,” Obama said, to protect Assad, “his client.”

This is a predictable routine from a flailing leader whose “actions have been successful only insofar as its boosted his poll ratings inside of Russia'' -- which is a lot "easier to do when you've got a state controlled media."

Like most community organizers, President Obama is focused on the polls. President Putin is focused on results. The short, by no means inclusive list of the results he has obtained thus far are: prevented the U.S. from installing defensive missiles in Poland, humiliated Georgia, annexed the Crimea; invaded Eastern Ukraine, and finally, replaced the United States as the global power to turn to in Southwest Asia. Those plusses on Putin's ledger of geopolitical achievement come at the expense of minuses on Obama's books. When blood enemies such as Bashar Assad and Benjamin Netanyahu both turn to Putin for help, that puts him solidly in the driver's seat. President Obama needs to stop talking trash and start driving.