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Thursday, July 06, 2023

Product Differentiation. Pence vs. Trump/DeSantis -- China is watching Pence says.

SeattleTimes. AP feed:

“With all due respect, I think the former president and the governor of Florida just don’t understand Americans’ national interest in supporting the Ukrainian military in repelling the Russian military in Ukraine,” Pence, who is competing with Trump and DeSantis for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said during the interview before a campaign event in Sioux City.

Pence, who visited Ukraine last week, said, “Make no mistake, China is watching.”

Pence, who has called for robust aid to the Ukrainian military, said the United States’ commitment to keeping Russia in check signals its willingness to also hold China’s military ambitions in check in Asia.

Vietnam was over containing China, and it did not shake out well. 

But if we contain Russia, . . .

Enough. When Gorbachev folded the Soviet Union it looked as if both the U.S. and Soviets had somehow agreed each would cleam up their dictator-puppet camps, when Romania got cleaned, Somoza got tanked. Etc.

Then Ukraine became a puppet contest, our puppet in now. The contested border land and Crimea were in Russia before Khrushchev, a Ukrainian, while in power did a border shift. Prior to that it was bouncing back and forth over historical times. 

Russia took Crimea and had a plebiscite where the neighboring vote was "Go Russian." This was after an earlier ceasefire was negotiated, the Minsk Agreement.

Ukraine kept shelling the contested land after it had built up its forces subsequent to accepting temporarily the ceasefire conditions. Russia wanting shelling to stop. Shelling did not stop. Russia invaded apparently hoping for a Blitzkrieg and instead things settled into the current quagmire. The current costly quagmire. Pentagon insiders and contractors love the quagmire, others see where money might be better spent.

Changing horses midstream is part of an adage, Pence saying as Biden says, don't, with Trump and DeSantis saying maybe.

Product differentiation likely will not boost Pence above single digit poll numbers, but giving it a try is cost free, and it possibly might move the needle. End of story.