Joe Biden should shut up, said Russia's Pravda. After President Obama's "remarkable visit" raised hopes for better relations between Washington and Moscow, the American vice president "spoils it all" by suggesting to The Wall Street Journal that Russia is a declining power, so the U.S. shouldn't make any compromises with it. What a "shocking display of insolence and ignorance."
Poor Joe Biden "was just calling it as he sees it on Russia," said the Los Angeles Times in an editorial. But insulting Russia—by pointing to its dwindling population, "withering economy," and doomed banking system—was "immensely counterproductive" for an administration trying to improve relations frayed during the Bush years. President Obama chose Biden for his foreign policy expertise—but "this can't be what the president had in mind."
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