to use our correspondent in moscow's point that the president of russia this week seems to be more consistent than the president of the united states. >> that's the problem. it is not just what the president says and does, it is the whole way the administration is managed. yesterday the state department called the russian assertions absurd, while the white house press secretary couldn't figure out how to respond, she said maybe this is still on the table. that's what gives the impression that the right hand and left hand are not operating in synch. i think we should also remember that putin is now smarting. president putin is in a way realizing that this whole thing may have back fired on him, and i'll tell you why. if you look at what his proposal is all about, it was about the so-called sanctions. and if you look at the original