For decades, both Republicans and Democrats assumed tensions with Russia had more to do with their predecessors in the Oval Office than with the man sitting atop the Kremlin.

President George W. Bush, for example, looked into Vladimir Putin’s eyes and saw his soul. In hindsight, Bush probably just saw a smudge on Putin’s glasses. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton believed all they needed was a “reset” to jump-start ties. President Donald Trump thought all his predecessors were wrong, that he was a man with whom Putin could do honest business.

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