Why a Russian invasion of Ukraine would hurt Americans too

President Joe Biden spent the weekend leading what is looking like an increasingly desperate final effort to forestall a Russian invasion of Ukraine -- an incursion that could have grave consequences for his own political standing.

If President Vladimir Putin orders his tanks into Russia's smaller, democratic neighbor, he would send shockwaves around the world and trigger one of the worst and most dangerous national security crises since the Cold War.

And while it is not his prime intention, Putin would cause significant damage to Biden's prestige and inflict real-time consequences on Americans in an already tense midterm election year -- including with likely new hikes to already soaring gasoline prices that often act as an index of voter anger and perceptions about the economy.