And yet his record, his personality and his circumstances show that he can escape being poleaxed, and even have a successful term, winning over some of the skeptical.
For Thérèse Delpech, the French Atomic Energy Commission's director of strategic affairs, the circumstances show "the Russians are playing with Monopoly money on the subject of sanctions on banks or arms or gasoline while the Americans stand by and smile.
For David J. Kramer, a former senior State Department official with responsibility for Russia, the new circumstances show "the Russians now have far more leverage in the U.S. relationship than they should".
During a press conference this morning, the French president asked all TV channels to, under absolutely no circumstances, show the footage of the seven murders filmed by Merah and eventually received by TV channel Al-Jazeera.
At a recent event at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Snowden used the Snowbot to tell his audience: "In an extraordinary and unpredictable way, my own circumstances show there is a model that ensures that even if we're left without a state, we aren't left without a voice".
Moyes was rewarded with a salary of around £4m a year for his work with Everton and a close look at the club's financial circumstances show some room for manoeuvre for the next man in through the door.
