"McCain, not Obama, was right about Georgia"

[Tristan]

McCain, not Obama, was right about Georgia
August 12, 2008
STEVE HUNTLEY
McCain, not Obama, was right about Georgia :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Steve Huntley

-snip

One who was up to speed on Georgia and the menace it faced from Russia was veteran Sen. John McCain. He had visited the Caucasian nation three times in a dozen years. When fighting erupted, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate got on the phone to gather details and issued a statement Friday summarizing the situation, tagging Russia as the aggressor and demanding it withdraw its forces from the sovereign territory of Georgia.

It took first-term Sen. Barack Obama three tries to get it right. Headed for a vacation in Hawaii, the presumed Democratic candidate for commander in chief issued an even-handed statement, urging restraint by both sides. Later Friday, he again called for mutual restraint but blamed Russia for the fighting. The next day his language finally caught up with toughness of McCain's.

Making matters worse, Obama's staff focused on a McCain aide who had served as a lobbyist for Georgia, charging it showed McCain was "ensconced in a lobbyist culture." Obama's campaign came off as injecting petty partisan politics into an international crisis. This was not a serious response on behalf a man who aspires to be the leader of the Free World. After all, what's so bad about representing a small former Soviet republic struggling to remake itself as a Western-style democracy?

-snip

And in the New York Times...

For Mr. McCain, the conflict came after months of warnings about the situation in Georgia. Mr. McCain befriended Georgia’s president, Mikheil Saakashvili, over the course of several trips there, and even nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 (in a letter that was co-signed by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York).

Mr. McCain’s top foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, lobbied on behalf of the Georgian government until March, and Mr. McCain has long embraced Georgia’s efforts to move toward joining NATO, which has been seen as part of a broader strategy to contain Russia by admitting its old satellites and former Soviet republics into the alliance.

“NATO’s decision to withhold a membership action plan for Georgia might have been viewed as a green light by Russia for its attacks on Georgia,” Mr. McCain told reporters on Monday in Erie, Pa., “and I urge the NATO allies to revisit the decision.”

While Mr. McCain has long called for excluding Russia from the Group of 8, and isolating it on the world stage, his probable Democratic opponent, Senator Barack Obama, has made clear he favors more engagement with Russia (even as he speaks of reviewing relationships with Russia, including its interest in joining the World Trade Organization).

Obama got his "3AM phone call". Obama blew it bigtime.

 

[Tristan]

oops, forgot NYT link... (sry)
The New York Times > Log In

 

[CA95380]

Well!! It is pretty obvious why McCain "was up to speed" on this and knew about it ahead of time

One who was up to speed on Georgia and the menace it faced from Russia was veteran Sen. John McCain. He had visited the Caucasian nation three times in a dozen years. When fighting erupted, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate got on the phone to gather details and issued a statement Friday summarizing the situation, tagging Russia as the aggressor and demanding it withdraw its forces from the sovereign territory of Georgia.

George Bush had to make sure that he was well trained in moving our troops into another country ..... just in case ..... his good buddy McCain gets elected. He wants to make sure McCain knows how to stick his nose into another country's business, just like he has.

Wake up and smell the coffee

 

[hjmick]

Crap, now they're going to call McCain a racist because he "visited the Caucasian nation three times."

 

[CA95380]

Crap, now they're going to call McCain a racist because he "visited the Caucasian nation three times."

"Caucasian nation" <---- now that sounds just like something that George Bush would say ..... on a GOOD DAY! lol Except he would probably have to "google" it to find out what it meant!

 

[chapstic]

"Caucasian nation" <---- now that sounds just like something that George Bush would say ..... on a GOOD DAY! lol Except he would probably have to "google" it to find out what it meant!

sounds like something a racist barack hussein obama would say. oh and i'm sure barack hussein obama would have to google it or his speech writers would.

 

[midcan5]

Talk is cheap and meaningless, only fools follow the school yard bully.


A vote for John McCain is a vote against the fundamental principle of America, the right of the individual to lead their life privately without the government interfering.

 

[sealybobo]

McCain, not Obama, was right about Georgia
August 12, 2008
STEVE HUNTLEY
McCain, not Obama, was right about Georgia :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Steve Huntley

-snip

-snip

And in the New York Times...



Obama got his "3AM phone call". Obama blew it bigtime.

Yes, the media sure is trying awfully hard to make this a win for McCain. I'm not buying it. I think it points out how we can't do shit for our allies because we are spread too thin. And Georgia is furious with us because we basically don't have their backs. What can we do?

The GOP is starting up the cold war again because apparently, war is good for Republican candidates. Just like another 9-11 would be a good thing for McCain and his defense buddies.

 

[Tristan]

Well!! It is pretty obvious why McCain "was up to speed" on this and knew about it ahead of time



George Bush had to make sure that he was well trained in moving our troops into another country ..... just in case ..... his good buddy McCain gets elected. He wants to make sure McCain knows how to stick his nose into another country's business, just like he has.

Wake up and smell the coffee

Woke up and smelled the conspiracy theory. LOL

This is a thread about who is ready to lead. Which POTUS candidate knows who the good guys are and who the bad guys are w/o consulting 300 advisors. etc...

 

[Tristan]

Yes, the media sure is trying awfully hard to make this a win for McCain. I'm not buying it. I think it points out how we can't do shit for our allies because we are spread too thin. And Georgia is furious with us because we basically don't have their backs. What can we do?

The GOP is starting up the cold war again because apparently, war is good for Republican candidates. Just like another 9-11 would be a good thing for McCain and his defense buddies.

I'll be leaving aside the nutty media comment. I can offer proof they are in the tank for Obama in another thread at another time if you like.

We already are "doing shit" for Georgia in aid and in getting some of their troops back home. We are also working with allies to figure out the best way to punish Russia w/o escalating the conflict. What would you have us do to "have their backs" attack Russia?!? No thanks.

Crazy GOP comment too. Today it's "the GOP is starting up the cold war" tomorrow the Republicans will be a minority party of slack jawed yokels again. Get a freakin' clue. It's Russia that want's the cold war days back, not us. It's Russia that invaded a sovereign country, not us. (no, Iraq was not a sovereign country idjit)

 

[AllieBaba]

McCain, not Obama, was right about Georgia
August 12, 2008
STEVE HUNTLEY
McCain, not Obama, was right about Georgia :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Steve Huntley

-snip

-snip

And in the New York Times...



Obama got his "3AM phone call". Obama blew it bigtime.

Obama has blown every single chance he's been given. The man is unfit to even run for the office, let alone act as president.

 

[sealybobo]

I'll be leaving aside the nutty media comment. I can offer proof they are in the tank for Obama in another thread at another time if you like.

We already are "doing shit" for Georgia in aid and in getting some of their troops back home. We are also working with allies to figure out the best way to punish Russia w/o escalating the conflict. What would you have us do to "have their backs" attack Russia?!? No thanks.

Crazy GOP comment too. Today it's "the GOP is starting up the cold war" tomorrow the Republicans will be a minority party of slack jawed yokels again. Get a freakin' clue. It's Russia that want's the cold war days back, not us. It's Russia that invaded a sovereign country, not us. (no, Iraq was not a sovereign country idjit)

I don't think so. There is a lobbyist on McCain's crew that represents Georgia. McCain is losing the debate on the war in Iraq, losing on the economic debate, losing with popularity around the country and around the world.

This is typical Republican politics. Start up a conflict that McCain can paint himself as the next Ronald Reagan to "fight the cold war". Get people to rally behind him. What a farse. It's almost laughable.

 

[AllieBaba]

Crap, now they're going to call McCain a racist because he "visited the Caucasian nation three times."

Who's labeling it as a "caucasian nation"? The press?

How great they are at making race an issue in every situation. I've never heard anyone else refer to Georgia as a "caucasian" nation. In fact, if they are anything like the rest of the area, I imagine they have quite a bit of mongol and various other genetic strains there....

 

[AllieBaba]

I don't think so. There is a lobbyist on McCain's crew that represents Georgia. McCain is losing the debate on the war in Iraq, losing on the economic debate, losing with popularity around the country and around the world.

This is typical Republican politics. Start up a conflict that McCain can paint himself as the next Ronald Reagan to "fight the cold war". Get people to rally behind him. What a farse. It's almost laughable.

My goodness, you're a mindless commie autobot.

 

[Denny Crane]

If McCain happened to be a bit more up to speed on the situation in Georgia this might be why.

WASHINGTON - John McCain's chief foreign policy adviser and his business partner lobbied the senator or his staff on 49 occasions in a 3 1/2-year span while being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the government of the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

The payments raise ethical questions about the intersection of Randy Scheunemann's personal financial interests and his advice to the Republican presidential candidate who is seizing on Russian aggression in Georgia as a campaign issue.

Source

 

[AllieBaba]

You know, people have a right to have friends who make money. I've had drinks with the guy who is "Tim" in Tim's gourmet potato chips....he lived in Russia and made a fortune processing potatoes and selling chips there in the 90s.

So now if I become a politician and I take Russia's side...is it because I'm tainted by my association with "Tim"?

 

[sealybobo]

My goodness, you're a mindless commie autobot.

We all know Republicans play dirty politics. So, tell us what dirty tricks have they tried so far? None? Who's mindless again?

And for the other numb nuts who doesn't think the media is helping John McCain, I guess you weren't listening to Air America this morning. EVERY reporter in the news was suggesting this is a WIN for McCain. Slam dunk! No brainer!! McCain saves the day! Obama sucks!!!

What liberal media would buy in to that? None.

 

[sealybobo]

You know, people have a right to have friends who make money. I've had drinks with the guy who is "Tim" in Tim's gourmet potato chips....he lived in Russia and made a fortune processing potatoes and selling chips there in the 90s.

So now if I become a politician and I take Russia's side...is it because I'm tainted by my association with "Tim"?

Conflict of interest. But I would need to know more about your dealings with that Rusky before I could determine that. You wouldn't care how shady it looked if a GOP had a relationship with the mob, you'd say "so do the dems", and you'd point to Mayor Daily of Chicago, 60 years ago. Fool.

 

[Tristan]

I don't think so. There is a lobbyist on McCain's crew that represents Georgia. McCain is losing the debate on the war in Iraq, losing on the economic debate, losing with popularity around the country and around the world.

This is typical Republican politics. Start up a conflict that McCain can paint himself as the next Ronald Reagan to "fight the cold war". Get people to rally behind him. What a farse. It's almost laughable.

There is the wack-job conspiracy theory again! If you really think the Republicans started up this conflict your hopeless.

McCain is winning the debate on Iraq since the surge proved a success. McCain has a better economic plan, though I concede he is losing the debate. McCain is not losing on popularity he is in a virtual tie and Obama has not even proven he can win a large majority of Democrats let alone 50% of the country.

 

[Tristan]

And for the other numb nuts who doesn't think the media is helping John McCain, I guess you weren't listening to Air America this morning. EVERY reporter in the news was suggesting this is a WIN for McCain. Slam dunk! No brainer!! McCain saves the day! Obama sucks!!!

And if Obama were to fall down the stairs getting out of his plain EVERY reporter in the news would suggest he had a moment of clumseyness.