Obama Tells Russia to Hold Off on Missile Defense: “I’ll Have More Time After Election”

Obama told Russian President Dmitri medvedev to give him some space on missile defense negotiations until after the election.
“I’ll have more time after the election.”
ABC reported:

At the tail end of his 90 minute meeting with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev Monday, President Obama said that he would have “more flexibility” to deal with controversial issues such as missile defense, but incoming Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to give him “space.”

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The exchange was picked up by microphones as reporters were let into the room for remarks by the two leaders.

The exchange:

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President Obama: On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it’s important for him to give me space.

President Medvedev: Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you…

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President Obama: This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.

President Medvedev: I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir.

When asked to explain what President Obama meant, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications Ben Rhodes told ABC News that there is room for the U.S. and Russia to reach an accommodation, but “there is a lot of rhetoric around this issue — there always is — in both countries.

Lovely… The president will wait until after the election to sell our nation down the river when it comes to missile defense.

More… Legal Insurrection added this, via Instapundit:

“Notice how the Obama captured when he doesn’t think he is being recorded is so differenct from campaign Obama. The ‘bitter clinger’ remarks and the Netanyahu put-down are the most memorable. And there are the hot mic sound bites which the media won’t release, like CBS refusing to release the full audio of Obama’s comments about Paul Ryan, and the LA Times holding back the Khalidi tape. The most recent hot mic is in many ways the most important, because it demonstrates once again that unrestrained by the need for reelection, Obama is going to go to town.”

Scary.