What did Biden say to Putin, and what should happen next?

This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a leadership summit of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. Sign up here.Today’s Agenda A very important call. Rea [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a leadership summit of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - [A very important call](. - Reason for optimism [about omicron](? - Both parties [need to fight](anti-Semitism.  - The [Series 1 savings bond]( is no longer a secret. Ukraine on Line 1 The American and Russian presidents met today in what could be the most consequential summit in Ukrainian history. Details of the video conference between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin are [still trickling out](, but with up to 175,000 Russian troops massing on the Ukrainian border, Biden “[reiterated]( his support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and vowed the U.S. would respond with “strong economic and other measures” if Russia invaded. That’s pretty much what Bloomberg’s editorial board [advised](, albeit before the call began. Putin needs to know that, if he intervenes militarily, not only the U.S but Europe will also respond. At a minimum, says the board, Ukraine should be provided now with weapons and advisers, and NATO should station a healthy contingent of troops in member states near Russia. If diplomacy doesn’t work, the West should be prepared to impose economic sanctions on state-owned banks and Putin’s cronies, and limit Moscow’s access to global debt markets. Yes, such steps would be risky. But “firm and coordinated action is the best way to prevent a war that could cost thousands of lives and destabilize an entire continent,” the board writes. Read the [whole thing](. Hal Brands agrees — and predicts the [Ukraine crisis will doom Biden’s “pivot]( to Asia” (a [pivot](, Brands points out, that Biden’s former boss also tried and failed to make). The theory was that, as things quieted down in Europe, the U.S. would be able to focus more on China. But Europe’s just getting noisier, and not only the Chinese but also the Iranians are taking advantage. In other words, says Brands: It could be a long winter for Biden. Bonus videoconference content: Nobody likes Zoom calls (except maybe for a few [lovable contrarians](), but 900 former employees of Better.com have more reason to complain than most: They got fired over Zoom last week. The company’s CEO, Vishal Garg, will [live forever on TikTok and in infamy](, writes Mark Gongloff. Omicron Update: Optimism Warranted? Amid the endless search for good news about the pandemic, Brooke Sutherland has [found some in an odd place](: the boardroom of American Airlines. The world’s largest airline is replacing CEO Doug Parker, who will be succeeded in March by President Robert Isom. The move is a sign of the industry’s optimism about its future, Sutherland says; the transition had been delayed due to uncertainty about the pandemic. While air travel hasn’t quite returned to pre-pandemic levels, it has been holding steady: Back on the ground, politicians are [still learning]( how to manage the response to the omicron variant. After a necessary and difficult debate over whether it is OK to kiss under the mistletoe, Europe is “trying to figure out how to be responsive [without taking away some of the liberties]( they’ve just given back to people,” says Therese Raphael. At least the scientists are doing their job, says Sam Fazeli; more treatments are on the way. Meanwhile, Arielle Kane points out the [speed with which South African scientists]( were able to detect the new strain — and worries their American counterparts lack the data to move as quickly. The Bipartisan Scourge of Anti-Semitism The rise of anti-Semitic violence in America over the past few years has been deeply unsettling, [writes]( Bloomberg LP founder Michael Bloomberg — as is the tendency of both parties to respond to accusations of anti-Semitism by saying the other side is worse. The tactic is “designed to keep Jews in both parties quiet and force us to tolerate what they deem to be an ‘acceptable’ level of anti-Semitism,” he says, in an article adapted from a speech delivered last night at the UJA-Federation of New York’s Wall Street Dinner. The solution? Call out bigotry and prejudice “whenever it appears and whoever it comes from.” And maybe spend a little less time scrolling through Twitter looking for something to get outraged about. Read the [whole thing](. Telltale Chart If you could [earn a 7.12% return on a $10,000 investment]( over six months, would you? You are not alone, Brian Chappatta  and he has the chart to prove it. Further Reading Assignment for America’s schools: [Keep your doors open]( this winter. — Bloomberg’s editorial board Israel’s Iran policy recently has been [a strategic disaster](, says a former adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu. — Zev Chafets These [two pieces of advice]( can be adapted to almost any person in almost any situation. — Tyler Cowen The [rise of robots](, the fall of men and the collapse of marriage. — Andreas Kluth Elon Musk [may say]( he opposes government subsidies, but that hasn’t stopped Tesla from taking them. — Anjani Trivedi Is President Joe Biden getting [bad press]( because he’s unpopular, or is it the other way around? — Jonathan Bernstein ICYMI Larry Summers puts [chances of a recession]( over the next two years at 30% to 40%. The United Arab Emirates has [rescheduled the weekend](. [RIP](, Fred Hiatt. Kickers Yes, Virginia, there is [a Santa school](. What Putin [sounds like]( when he’s trying to be charming. What happens [underneath]( the bird feeder. (h/t [kottke.org]() Notes:  Please send bird seed and complaints to Michael Newman at mnewman43@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Like Bloomberg Opinion Today? [Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access and get much, much more](. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022