http://tinyurl.com/5u33p4
- - - The Obama campaign has for months pursued the odd strategy of having the junior senator from Illinois act as if he were already kinda-sorta president of the United States. In June, it tried sticking a quasi-presidential seal on his lectern. In July, Obama conducted what seemed like official state visits with foreign leaders and delivered something like a "prenaugural" address in Berlin, inviting comparisons to JFK and Reagan. ... Now fate has given Obama a chance to be presidential rather than pretend. Taking advantage of the Olympic distraction in Beijing, the Russians invaded Georgia, a democratic U.S. ally. Initially, the Russians bombed civilians, rolled tanks across an internationally recognized border and threatened to launch an all-out, destabilizing war. Now it looks as if their army has cut Georgia in two. ... Obama's response? First, on Friday, he gave a conventional written statement calling for calm, United Nations action and "restraint" from both sides - followed an hour later by a slightly stronger condemnation of Russian aggression and a call for a cease-fire. So for an international crisis, Obama puts away the soaring rhetoric and hides behind a statement we might expect from any State Department functionary. But that's not to say he didn't make it to the cameras. The next day he headlined a rally celebrating his vacation in Hawaii. He promised "to go body surfing at some undisclosed location." During Obama's make-believe presidency, we've heard about bold action, about the courage to talk to dictators. When faced with a real "3 a.m. moment," Obama - who boasts roughly 200 foreign policy advisors - proclaims, "I'm going to get some shave ice." ... By Monday, Bush and Obama were playing catch-up to Sen. John McCain, who grasped the gravity from the start. McCain, whose support for Georgia is long-standing, immediately denounced Russian aggression and demanded an emergency meeting of NATO and Western aid to the fledgling democracy. The geopolitical significance of the Georgia crisis at this stage is hard to gauge. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin may not wish to revive the Soviet Union, but he clearly seeks to restore Russia's imperial stature. And Item One on that agenda is to crush Georgia's independence and smother hopes for NATO's expansion to Russia's "near abroad." ... Yet this moment calls for more than playacting, and Obama looks lost without a presidential script. Events in the Caucasus - and in Beijing - suggest that the times aren't so new after all. Two powerful antidemocratic foes are once again flexing their muscles when America seems weak and distracted. That is no new challenge but a very old one. Perhaps this isn't a time for a novice spouting grand rhetoric about a new page in history, but for someone who's actually read the pages of some old but still relevant books. Perhaps this is not the time for playacting. Perhaps it is not the time for body surfing. - - - He didn't even mention Obama's most naive statement, which was that Russia's actions ran contrary to the spirit of the Olympics. Well, duh. I bet the Kremlin is licking their chops at the prospect of an Obama presidency. McCain seems at least on this issue to have more brains and gumption than Obama and Dubya combined. Can't trust him on much else, but on this he seems more solid than I would have supposed. I especially like his comment about looking into Putin's eyes and seeing "a K, a G and a B" -- that shows a lot more insight than Bush's claim to have seen the man's soul, and liked what he saw. - Bob _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
