At the Group of 20 meeting in Brisbane, Australia, over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin was slighted in numerous ways, big and small. "I guess I'll shake your hand," Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said to his face. U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, in a public statement, made a mocking reference to the Russian Navy vessels parked off Papua New Guinea ahead of the summit: "I didn't feel it necessary to bring a warship myself."

The Australians sent a relatively insignificant official to meet Putin at the airport, and members of the Russian delegation complained about the hotel they were assigned. For the "family photo" of the attending world leaders, Putin was relegated to the very edge. He had breakfast alone, ignored by fellow attendees.

Putin was the unpopular middle school student, hounded by his classmates. And all of it was puerile, faintly ridiculous and counterproductive.