The whole notion that Putin somehow is a madman does not make sense. If he really is, what prevents him from nuking all of Europe and East coast? He has the technical capability to do so. Yes, there will be a retaliation, but he is a madman after all, what would he care, he will just hide in some bunker somewhere and let Russian peasants die. "They" literally are betting on him being extremely self-restrained with all the relentless demonization and poking the bear just proving who the real madmen are. And, if you are dealing with an armed and dangerous madman, aren't we supposed to de-escalate the situation by talking to him, etc etc?