There have always been elements of the right who were willing to overlook the flaws of strongmen who espoused some of the right causes. See, for example, William F. Buckley’s admiration for Francisco Franco—or for that matter, more recent National Review writers like Jay Nordlinger, who, reviewing a biography of El Caudillo last year, wrote, “He was a dictator, and that should settle the matter, as we are good liberal democrats. But does it? There are dictators and there are dictators, and mature people acknowledge degrees.”

But Putin, as an avatar of reborn Sovietism, fell in a different category. Just four years ago, Mitt Romney was warning that Russia was “our No. 1 geopolitical foe” and saying, “Russia does continue to battle us in the U.N. time and time again. I have clear eyes on this. I'm not going to wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to Russia, or Mr. Putin.” The statement was roundly mocked by progressives at the time, and while the “no. 1” designation may still be up for debate, Romney’s statement at the very least looks a great deal more prescient than he was given credit for. In the wake of Putin’s annexation of Crimea, the DNC hacks, and Russian intervention in Syria, many of the liberals who mocked Romney are now saying much the same thing.

Clinton was perhaps cynical in invoking the most famous of Republican Cold Warriors on Thursday, saying, “What would Ronald Reagan say about a Republican nominee who attacks American’s generals and heaps praise on Russia’s president?” but it does seem likely the Gipper would be taken aback.

Some Republicans continue to view Putin dimly. Many conservatives, including my colleague David Frum, were quick to condemn Trump’s and Pence’s comments about Putin. Responding to Trump’s comments on Thursday, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said that “Putin is an aggressor that does not share our interests” and “is acting like an adversary.” But Ryan continues to back Trump for president, and bristled at reporter’s questions about the nominee.

Other Trump backers tried to write his comments off as simple negotiating—buttering up a potential counterpart. But Trump’s long roster of praise suggests something more than mere posturing. He’s taken up the banner carried by some conservatives who have objected to Barack Obama’s approach of foreign policy retrenchment. (The extent of that retrenchment, of course, is debatable: Obama has also deployed American troops across the globe and begun wars in Libya and Yemen.) One of those conservatives is former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has become one of Trump’s closest advisers and top surrogates.

While some of Obama’s critics see him as lawlessly defying the Constitution, this camp sees him as insufficiently willing to act, authorized or not. In 2014, for example, Giuliani unfavorably compared Obama with his Russian counterpart. “Putin decides what he wants to do and he does it in half a day, right? He decided he had to go to their parliament. He went to their parliament. He got permission in 15 minutes,” he said. When Neil Cavuto (of all people!) pointed out that was because of the perfunctory approval of a rubber-stamp Duma, Giuliani replied, “But he makes a decision and he executes it, quickly. Then everybody reacts. That’s what you call a leader. President Obama, he’s got to think about it. He’s got to go over it again. He’s got to talk to more people about it.”