McCain's Experience Shows Through

Election '08: Russia's brutal invasion of Georgia caught America off guard. But it did give voters an idea of what to expect from a President McCain or a President Obama, and right now the differences are stark.

"Russian military forces crossed an internationally recognized border into the sovereign territory of Georgia," he said as the news broke. "The very existence of independent Georgia — and the survival of democratically elected government — are at stake."

He was blasted by pundits as being too extreme, but events now show he was right. McCain grasped the regional implications, too.

"Russia has used violence against Georgia to send a signal to any country that chooses to associate with the West and aspire to our shared political and economic values," he said.

As he spoke, tiny Estonia and weak Ukraine began efforts to aid Georgia. Western Europe's greater powers wrung their hands.

McCain also comprehended what the attack meant for U.S. influence in the world — the specter of an ally bleeding while friend and foe alike eyed our response.

It occurs to me that frequently in life the biggest opportunities come looking like anything but. This situation seems to have given us an unmatched opportunity going into a presidential election, arguably the most important in my lifetime, to see the candidates in what amounts to a dress rehearsal. The timing is outstanding. We are close enough to election day that we know who will be the candidates and they're in that part of the campaign where they are going to be expected to tell us, in detail, how they would handle the situation.

This also gives us, America, a chance to set the course for how we're going to handle Russia in the future. There is absolutely no doubt that Russia is testing not only us, but the rest of the world. Mostly us though, since the rest of the world has shown it has no stomach for standing up to anyone.

I would be calling in all sorts of people and asking them to brainstorm with me. What can we do that would be effective at showing Russia that reincarnation is not the USSR’s fortunes. There have got be lots of ways we can make an impression on Russia, starting with cutting ANY aid to them, period.

I don't think the fates could have given us a much better opportunity to audition presidential candidates!

Anybody got any ideas how we can require all Americans to read the IBD editorials?

Well, we could start by teaching them phonics...

Seriously, though, I hear you loud and clear. It's disgusting how many peope go through life at a level no deeper than M-TV.

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