MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell worried on her show “Andrea Mitchell Reports” that the US was just being too harsh on Vladimir Putin, asking a guest whether we should be making “overtures” to the Russian autocrat. (VIDEO: Andrea Mitchell To French Ambassador: Why Are ‘Provocative’ Anti-Muslim Cartoons Permitted?)
“Did we bait the bear too much by the sanctions policy?” she asked Maryland Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen. “We couldn’t have predicted the drop in oil to these low levels which also squeezed him. Have we put too much pressure on Putin, made him a hero back home, made us the enemy to no effect? Should we be instead considering some back-channel overtures to Putin?”