In President Barack Obama’s latest round of pretend sanctions, he’s targeting 17 companies supposedly linked to Russia’s Tsar President Vladimir Putin along with 7 more oligarchs. But don’t take it personally, Vlad, Obama assures all concerned, this isn’t intended to, like, hurt. It’s just that flexibility I talked about a couple years ago.

The goal here is not to go after Mr Putin personally[.]

The Wall Street Journal took note of Obama’s cynical moral equivalence shortly after his assurance.

In [Obama’s] view Mr Putin is reacting understandably to Russia’s post-Soviet decline in power and the West’s NATO expansion. Ukraine and the rest of the Russian near abroad are part of the Kremlin’s historic sphere of influence, so let Mr Putin have them and after a slap on the wrist we can all return to business as usual.

Two more years is a long time….