"This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility."

It's not a betrayal. It's certainly not criminal. But US President Barack Obama's remark to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in a conversation about nuclear missile defense does show a gut-punching level of political cynicism about what a politician can do to move their agenda along by "working the system" -- even without a specific mandate from the people.

This doesn't make Obama worse than any other politician; it just reminds us that he is, in fact, just another politician.

Boris Gromyko is a Contributing Writer for The Propagandist