McCain on Crisis in Georgia [Updates]
By NoQuarter on August 8, 2008 at 11:21 AM in Foreign Policy, National Security
(I haven’t gotten anything from Obama’s camp. Am searching for a statement. Of course, he’ll have to have someone write the entire thing for him. God, I hope there’s a press conference today, and the press ask him about this crisis. UPDATE at 9:23 a.m. PT — Six minutes ago the A.P. posted “McCain, Obama urge halt to fighting in Georgia.” 2nd UPDATE: Memeorandum.com has an excellent list of the best stories. I find it astonishing that I cannot find more coverage of this story on ANY of the three “news” networks. They’re blathering mostly about the latest “crime” stories. They insult our intelligence. UPDATE 3: BBC World Service radio is on the story. UPDATE 4: Added a map from the NYTimes story, which also has a riveting photo. It’ll help Barky. UPDATE 5: I have added Obama’s statement at the end. I INVITE YOU to COMPARE and CONTRAST the two statements.)
For Immediate Release
Contact: Press Office
Friday, August 8, 2008
703-650-5550
ARLINGTON, VA — U.S. Senator John McCain issued the following statement regarding the current conflict between Georgia and Russia:
“Today, news reports indicate that Russian military forces crossed an internationally-recognized border into the sovereign territory of Georgia. Russia should immediately and unconditionally cease its military operations and withdraw all forces from sovereign Georgian territory. What is most critical now is to avoid further confrontation between Russian and Georgian military forces. The consequences for Euro-Atlantic stability and security are grave.
“The government of Georgia has called for a cease-fire and for a resumption of direct talks on South Ossetia with international mediators. The U.S. should immediately convene an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council to call on Russia to reverse course. The U.S. should immediately work with the EU and the OSCE to put diplomatic pressure on Russia to reverse this perilous course it has chosen. We should immediately call a meeting of the North Atlantic Council to assess Georgia’s security and review measures NATO can take to contribute to stabilizing this very dangerous situation. Finally, the international community needs to establish a truly independent and neutral peacekeeping force in South Ossetia.”
Here is Barack Obama’s statement, such as it is, via The Page:
Below is a Statement from Senator Obama on the Grave Situation in Georgia
“I strongly condemn the outbreak of violence in Georgia, and urge an immediate end to armed conflict. Now is the time for Georgia and Russia to show restraint, and to avoid an escalation to full scale war. Georgia’s territorial integrity must be respected. All sides should enter into direct talks on behalf of stability in Georgia, and the United States, the United Nations Security Council, and the international community should fully support a peaceful resolution to this crisis.”
Let see what kind of ignorant statement will come out of Obama’s camp. At the moment they’re still trying to find Georgia on the map.
It’ll probably have something to do with Bob Barr
My thoughts EXACTLY … not the Atlanta he used to know?
Haha. I was going to say he’s probably wondering why Russia’s going to war with the southern state he won by about 30 points in the primaries.
They’ll probably just change the wording and copy McCain’s ideas. I’m sure they haven’t a clue what to do about this situation. Original analysis and in-depth working knowledge on issues are not Obama’s forte, especially with regards to foreign policy - he must totally rely on his 300 consultants. BTW, isn’t he on his way to Hawaii to look up that bc?
P.S. I wonder if he’s having a powwow with grandma, to make sure she toes the “correct” birth storyline.
He’s probably going to wait for Hillary or another Democrat to say something and copy THAT!
Wait, didn’t his world tour heal the world????
How could this happen?
you used the words i wanted to use lol i agree with you 110%…
Looks like that is exactly what he did. He “cribbed” as usual.
Obama wonders if Atlanta is Okay ?
Its the 55th State remember?
http://nativeamericansagainstobama.wordpress.com/
they know where “georgia” is…it’s in the gaza strip. rafah, GA is where the $33,000 contribution from Hamas came from, and Obama’s camp says they returned it…
ha, ha, ha–you are so right!
They’re confused because with all those contributions flowing in from the two brothers in GA, they’ve been working on their ‘narrative’ for how Georgia and Gaza are really the same place. And now, this? It has blown their robotic transistors and they’re all shuffling in circles mumbling “does not compute…”
WTF….IS OBAMA TALKIN ABOUT ?……GEORGIA IS BEING INVADED…NO ?
Frankly Hillary…. I don`t give a damn.
Why does this seem like Poland…1939 ?
he is asking which of the 57 states is Georgia? So he can proceed with a response!
It’s not Obama who has problems using a map.
That is ignorant, all right. Ignorant boilerplate that you could plug in any name of any country. With 300 foreign policy advisors, that is the best he could do in a crisis.
That’s another Mc Cain commercial. Is BHO ready to lead? When the crisis in Georgia and Russia hit the news, see how they responded….(run text).
VO: BHO, not ready to lead
John Mc Cain, a seasoned, experienced leader who understands the geopolitical situation because he has real experience.
I had to giggle at this one… Bet they did run to the map and are still looking!
Obama won’t say anything until HRC does; then he’ll agree.
My God, Obama is a weanie. Compare McCain’s and Obama’s statements, Obama is so milk toast about everything. He is so not presidential.
Of course he has no clue what the crisis is about; I doubt he ever heard in his life about “South Ossetia” and must be learning how to pronounce it….Oh boy…
Obama = Bush III
It doesn’t matter as long as he can preserve his image as Mr. Citoyen du Monde.
So, president Obama will not take a stand against the real evil here. Russia has been meddling in Georgia’s affairs and threatening it since the country was established. McCain knows the history of the conflict, Obama is ignorant, week and will mean a disaster for the US. Lets vote for Ozero cause he’s got logos.
putin doesn’t put up with sxxx. he’d have bambi for breakfast if he tried smarting off.
That’s about as generic as it gets. Obama should have a tape made of this statement, and simply replay it every time something happens in the world.
It’s also very general and light on specific strategies. Sound familiar? “Hope,” “Change,” “Peace.”
Before Senator Obama releases a statement, someone in his campaign will have to do the following:
Explain Georgia to Obama
This Georgia has white people…lots and lots of white people.
This particular Georgia isn’t the place where Ludacris and the rest of the “Dirty South” rappers live.
This particular Georgia hasn’t a clue who the hell the Atlanta Falcons or Atlanta Braves are or that they’re sporting teams.
This particular Georgia has citizens that cannot legally vote in US elections.
…and that they also don’t speak Arabic…. or Georgian.
Maybe this Georgia is hiding his birth certificate.
that is a crack-up! Hiding his birth certificate!
Obama is still in a southside Chicago frame of mind that “white people” are aliens.
I can’t figure out why he’s decided he’s the chosen one to lead people he is out of touch with.
He doesn’t want to “lead” us he wants to opress us. He want’s revenge for all the “evil ” we did to his people.
The fact that you actually think John McCain knows more about international relations and foreign policy than Barack Obama tells truly educated observers all we need to know. McCain’s release, like everything else the man has ever signed his name to, including his “books,” was written by someone else. Obama’s release, though doubtless contributed to by his foreign policy team (as would be the case with 100% of national politicians in recent decades), might actually have been written and thought about by him. When McCain speaks extemporaneously about foreign policy he makes elementary factual errors so shocking that I shudder to think the man is allowed anywhere near Capitol Hill, let alone the White House. But then again, the same could be said of Bush, Reagan and many other Republicans (not Bush Senior or Nixon, who both knew their shit).
Bonus points to RepublicanChick for the racial mockery! Just remember: PUMAs aren’t racist! LOL.
Wait until they start telling the jokes tonight on Leno and Letterman. See who they make fun of. That’s the real message. Asshole. And I mean that in the nicest possible way!!! Bless your heart.
Yes, yes, Beebop, we all know that you hate Obama SO MUCH that you are willing to use curse words to describe his supporters. You position in the group is secure. You’re a real PUMA. You can relax.
sticks and stones will break your bones. But names really pulverize those fragile little BOBOweenie bones don’t they? I mean were talking down to dust baby(LOL)
You flatter me. I don’t hate 0bama there, sweetie. He’s just not qualified to lead a country. Not Monaco much less America. There. I hope that clarifies it for you. Bless your heart.
We’ll see whether he was qualified after he is elected and assumes office. You Republican numbskulls said exactly the same thing about Bill Clinton, and he turned out to be plenty capable; so, I am quite sure, will Obama.
Doesn’t explain why you called me an asshole, though; I’m still fairly sure that was a statement made by you to the rest of the herd. Insecure people tend to have to act out in just that bragging, brash way. Same with the “sweetie” directed at, as it turns out, a man, and the un-meant but repeated “Bless your heart.” You’re trying too hard to fit in, Beebop, and that never works; it only makes you look kind of odd, which, ironically, is exactly the opposite effect you’re trying for.
Waiting until after, to see if BOBO is qualified? You just told us BOBO isn’t qualified… LOL Nice Job.
Oh for crying out loud, Bill was a Rhodes Scholar and International Relations was his major and when he was questioned on foreign matters he didn’t sound like a fussy school marm on Hormone Replacement Therapy. PS Please your heart is actually a slam.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
After the election, they’ll have to spray Ofraud with an extinguisher to put out the flames!
that is about the stupidest statement outside of obama and jackson jr i have seen in awhile. just elect bambi and see how it works out. you are pathethic.
My point was that “qualifications” are a double-edged, unpredictable sword. some of the most “qualified” candidates end up being disastrous legislators or presidents, and others with little prior experience wind up doing well. It all has to do with personal qualities which generally are unverifiable in advance. Good to see you all haven’t lost your adorable quality of jumping on trivia and massing around it like lemmings. Meanwhile, on the sections of this site where I challenge you to actually discuss real issues — silence. Crickets. No surprise. You are all so over your heads when it comes to actual facts.
What issues are you talking about? The energy issue? What’s the reality of having 150mpg hybrid(1 million for hat matter) in the next few years? The fact that he support bio-fuel(corn ethanol) that’s not much better that regular gas, but take away world food supply sound like a good policy to you? raising Taxes on the senior citizen who generally rely on those fix income sound like a good policy to you? Since you live in San Francisco as I do, do you honestly believed that $250k/year for a family is rich? The fact that so call tax credit for middle class don’t mean much with mounting national debt, which drive up credit cost(a big problem for most American), devalue dollar father(inflation problem) is not as good as balance the budget(which he have not plan on doing until the Mccain camp brought it up).
Also, what’s the size of your engine since you are so concerned about the environment? Most rich liberal that I knew aren’t driving Prius or Insight.
Give me your opinion on the issue above please, I am dying to know your logic behind supporting Obama base on issue.
My wife and I drive a pair of beat-up old VWs, one Cabrio and one Jetta, both of which get great gas mileage. We’re holding out for the next-gen Priuses that you mention. I think Obama’s stance on biofuels is silly, as you mention, and I think his stance on balancing the budget is weak, but that McCain’s is disastrous. I disagree that 250k households are middle-class; even in SF, if you’re making 250k a year, you are not going to be cast into criss if your marginal rate goes up by a few points; in fact, if the markets decide the next administration (Obama) is serious about budget reform, they’ll respond by pumping up stocks, and 250k households will be better off. This is precisely what happened when Clinton ran for office and cut a budget-balancing deal with Congress; Republicans screamed he was going to raise everyone’s taxes; he did raise some taxes, cut other taxes, held the line on spending, kicked off a stock market boom, and the rest is history.
Republicans, by contrast, have always been a joke on this issue. Always, going back to Reagan, who posed as a libertarian but never did a damn thing about slowing the growth of government spending. McCain’s economic proposals are deeply irresponsible madness. Period.
As for whether Obama’s offered tax cut for middle-class families is relevant or not, if I remember correctly it amounts to something over a thousand bucks per family per year. To a family that takes home, say, 25k a year after taxes, saving 1k is 4% more spending money for the year. I don’t see that as trivial. At any rate, a thousand bucks is more than you could expect to save in a decade’s worth of 10 cents lower gas prices that offshore drilling promises.
Thanks for a grownup note, though; it’s a rare pleasure on NQ.
I agree that majority Rep are a joke when comes to fiscal policy. Mccain however understand that and came out for balancing the budget in 4 years. Would that become a reality? i am not sure. But at lease he put an emphasis on it early on, therefor I trust him on that(especially base on his record against pork on bills). Obama’s spending and tax plan sound like a sure way to stay in red.
As I said above, 1k tax credit will not do much when interest shot up because of the debt issue. Devalued dollar(some 40% so far), and higher interest will cost average family far more than 1k a year.
I read a lot about cars and popular science as well as mechanic, and I didn’t see anything in regarding a 150mpg hybrid(not within 5 years anyway). Can you give me a link to show me that possibility? If not, that sound more like smoke screen to me.
Also, Mccain support Nuclear power(the newer generation is much better and safer now) as well as wind power and solar power, the best combination to help the environment. Cheap electric power will make fuel cell car and electric car wide spread a possibility(really helping the environment). Also, Fusion power will be available in another 30 year(much safer and efficient with shorter radioactive time). That’s much better than the Obama’s 50 years plan(or dream?).
As to the 250k issue, let me assure you that’s really not a lot in SF. With average home price in the 800k range, a decent home in a nice location will have a monthly price tag of well over 5k a month(P&I+tax,insurance), plus a another 1-2k for health care cost and gas, utilities(cable bill is over 150 a month), 1.5k for child care( at 700-800 per kid), food cost at another 500 minimum. That’s 8k a month. Your luck to net 120k a year on 250k income. 120-8×12=28k a year for everything else(entertainment, dine out, clothes, vacation etc). How can you call that “Rich”? I can see that apply to someone making 500k or up, but 250k with a net income of 120k rich?
I am glad that we can talk issue instead of the poll number. There are many things that I found unacceptable in this primary. Painting the Clintons Racist is one of them(most of us Chinese find that very offensive). The lack of any principle(balls as some of my friends call it) in the name of winning. False advertising(new politician who turn out to be more of politic as usual, which I knew from the start but not many others). Inexperience that will make him indecisive facing important issue(it will be his to make no matter how many advisor he have) tells me that this is not his time. Had he become the VP and put in 8 years, that will not be an issue. As it stands, Mccain is a better president since Obama push the most qualified candidate out of the race. Rep gave me someone that I can actually vote for for a change(I am independent by the way).
ok, I can understand how you might feel the need to defend the BOBO since he is off wasting time playing around in Hawaii while McCain is taking the job seriously.
McCain is taking what job seriously? Running for president? With his recent passel of embarrassingly immature ads and flat-out lies about his opponent? Whatever, Republican. Your opinion is no more relevant to a true progressive than the opinions of the 23% of Americans who still think Bush is doing a good job as president.
LOL Obviously they were effective.
No, if the ads were effective McCain wouldn’t still be behind in the polls. He had pulled into a tie by the time most of those ads were running and being promoted; now he has slipped behind again. This stuff is complicated and cause-and-effect is never simple and straightforward, but the last week tells me that McCain has damaged his brand, perhaps fatally, with his latest Schmidt-inspired negative attacks. McCain is supposed to be better than that. Obviously he isn’t, but in the public mind he was, until maybe the last couple weeks. This is a presidential race during times of brutal war and economic fear. I don’t think McCain helps his cause with patently absurd claims about Obama and ads featuring Hollywood starlets. Once again, you PUMAs reveal the inherent silliness of your discourse by simultaneously applauding those embarrassing ads and calling McCain more “presidential” than Obama.
Aren’t you supposed to be smart? Your boy can barely squeak a margin of error lead, and the fight hasn’t even started.
she’s new to this election thing. Cut her a little slack. When she grows up some day, then she’ll understand.
I’m a he, and I’m not new, and if you really think McCain is winning this race, trust me, it is you who does not understand.
As for the “fight hasn’t even started,” WildChild, that cuts both ways. Everybody in the country knows McCain. Most people don’t know much about Obama yet and haven’t really started focusing yet. A lot of political types I know (not all, but a lot) think that once he has his convention and the media really starts to focus and they hold a couple debates, the race will become a blowout as the average middle American gets to know Obama and concludes that he’s a smart, hard-working mainstream Democrat. McCain’s only hope, really, is to get the country to believe that Obama is a crazed, ultra-liberal, America-hating elitist (you know, like all you PUMAs think) before they get a chance to “meet him” for themselves. That’s why, now that he has a competent campaign manager in Steve Schmidt, he is barraging Obama with daily negative ads, no matter how much damage they do to McCain’s own reputation. If I were running his campaign, that is what I’d tell him to do as well; he has no other realistic likelihood of winning this election.
If Obama is doing so well then why are you here?
What a bunch of malarkey! McCain has defined his opponent, turned the “Change” message on its head and portrayed himself as being more sympathetic to the kitchen table concerns of American voters. Now he is hitting Obama as a “tax and spend liberal” with new ads keeping the celebrity theme front and center. The ads are working.
Peggy Noonan for the WSJ had a great column on it today.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121813852996621575.html?mod=todays_columnists
For the first time the idea began to take hold that John McCain can win this thing. You saw the USA Today-Gallup poll this week, with Mr. McCain gaining six points since late June among those Gallup dubbed likely voters. Mr. McCain took the lead, 49% to 45%. Among registered voters, it’s still Barack Obama, 47% to 44%. A poll came out saying people are tired of hearing about Mr. Obama. Mr. McCain took the lead in YouTube hits. Small stuff, and there will be a lot of twists and turns before this is over, but there’s movement down there beneath the crust of the Earth.
Hey, what the S F!
Are you telling me those ad’s had misleading information on them– Say it ain’t so.
Bloody heck! Obama would NEVER do such a thing.
I knew those ads about health care and NAFTA he ran against Hillary were carved in the TRUTH stone.
Stop the hate!
I cannot be racist according to Rev. Wright as I’m brown. I’m special baby!
Barack Obama plays Senator for the equivalent of what—150 days at the most?
Darlin–you don’t play Senator and then expect to be the President of the United States. This isn’t a learning on the job type position.
PUMAs aren’t racist, sexist, homophobes, or hypocrites. They’re pissed and I imagine Obama and the rest of you Obots ain’t seen nothing yet!
Poof little pest!
143 days i think.
and as state senator in illinois, around 30 or so days a year since the legislature here is in session only 55 days of the year and he showed up a little more than half the time in order to vote present.
I agree with you, actually — you don’t just “expect to become” President of the United States; you work your ass off for two years, go from being virtually unknown to one of the most famous people in the world by force of sheer charisma and intellect; you build a bigger and more effective grassroots volunteer organization than any other candidate in history; raise more money than any other candidate in history; go from being an afterthought in the polls to defeating the original frontrunner, political superstar and wife of a former president; convince the majority of super-delegates to trust you; and pull ahead of the Republican war hero who has been famous for decades.
And you do all that having started from basically zero. With a Muslim-sounding name and brown skin, in a country significant portions of which are still openly, proudly racist and will never support you no matter what.
That’s how you become president: you earn it with an astounding amount of good, hard work. Watch, PUMAs, while Barack Obama shows you exactly how it’s done.
BOBO isn’t very effeicent is he? By your own admission others beame presdient with much less. LOL we’re going to be laughing about it for years when BOBO loses.
Democrats don’t have the same large volunteer pool the GOP does with its Federated GOP Women, College and Young Republicans, and local party committees. In the primaries, Mr. Obama instead moved hordes of volunteers from state to state. It was a brilliant tactic, but Nov. 4 is different. The volunteers adequate for primaries held over five months will simply not be enough to compete in 51 separate elections (all 50 states plus the District of Columbia) all on one day.
In the GE, voters are less likely to be influenced by paid volunteers (strangers) than by people in their communities.
NO actually that’s how rockstars, soapstars and people with “15″ minutes of fame do it.
He is running for POTUS, not of the Senior Class in High School.
He is someone who is ‘OF” the party, but in the party.
Wow! So these are his great accomplishments! Running a successful campaign! Becoming famous worldwide in a short amount of time! I guess Maccain was right after all about the celebrity thing. I guess the Obama strategy to deal with the issue of Russia vs. Georgia will be to give a big speech in Red Square, preferably with some phalic symbol in the background, offering free vodka to thousands of adoring Russians, and using “hope” and “change” every other sentence. That is sure going to make Putin see the light. Maybe Obama can see into Putin’s heart, like GWB did. What a joke this guy is. Can’t decide which is more pathetic, him or his supporters. If it wasn’t our future hanging in the balance we could be laughing about this whole thing. Unfortunately, this joke is going to be on us. I can imagine Putin right now watching footage of Obama’s world tour and roaring with laughter: What are these crazy Americans thinking?!
What does it mean? How did you become truly?
“truly educated” is a trigger for “Camp Obama”
Now I get why you come here, you go back and forth between different topics on NQ, pretending on one to be a bot and on another to be a bot basher. Cute.
Wrong. I have one name on this site and you’re looking at it. I have no interest in playing sock puppet games. Haven’t you figured out yet that I’m enamored of my own voice? lol
Well at least someone is.
BWAHHH!!!
total burn there SB. good one.
Where is Ziggy Brzezinski?? Isn’t he still the resident expert for Obama? You remember Ziggy, he was National Security Advisor for Jimmy Carter. Obama is just Jimmy Carter Lite with the same team of Internationalists, this time led by George Soros, the DEM Daddywarbucks.
uh, sf,
57 states sit well with you?
-MS
Apparently, John McCain and President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili are personal friends. He said, “The guy brought me a bulletproof vest in 2003, specially came in with a bulletproof vest to give it to me.” They visited the Senaki military base in 2006. McCain chaired a dinner meeting for him in DC at the Nixon Center in 2003. It’s just stupid to say someone who has been on the Senate Armed Services Committee for two decades has no grasp of foreign policy and international relations. Do you think he has a stunt double show up for work?
McCain is also a student of history….Hitler used the excuse/LIE of Ethnic Germans in Poland to invade in 1939….Putin is doing the SAME thing….
Is L Bresnick (pardon the spelling)
on his campaign staff?
He has been looking for a way to go to war with Russia for years.
God knows what ideas he will implant in backtrack baracks head.
COUNTRY BEFORE PARTY ALWAYS
PUMAS, BUBBAS, AND THOSE PEOPLE RULE
You mean Ziggy Brzezinski???
McCain has his son Mark, but yeah, Brzezinski is a Russian revanchist nutjob. Obama would be totally unable to outmaneuver him. Another Carter fiasco.
brzezinski is the genius who gave us osama on steroids. i have no use for him.
AND………..-> This ain;’t the corporate home of CNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yup.
“he’ll have to have someone write the entire thing for him”
The real challenge is carving him off with grace.
I think even hardcore Obama news people realize he isn’t there.
What’s the solution to pulling the candidate nobody wants, and preventing him from doing max damage?
The candidate nobody wants? The only trouble with that formulation is that according to virtually every recent poll, more U.S. voters want Obama than want any other candidate.
or in other words. more of the thousand or so voters who answered their phones
LOL, precisely.
I’m sure low-info voters actually believe this. High-info people like me understand that the entire economic and industrial infrastructure of the modern world is based on the same applied mathematics and statistical modeling that underlies modern polling. There is a margin of error, yes, but when twenty polls over a two-week period all say Candidate X is winning by between 2 and 5 points, Candidate X is winning by between 2 and 5 points. Period. Just like if you walk into traffic and there’s a truck coming and you stand there and don’t move, you’re going to be hit by truck. Clicking your heels and tossing fairy dust won’t make the truck go away.
What you PUMAs are doing by denying or ignoring all the current polls is the political equivalent of clicking your heels and sprinkling fairy dust. Which is fine — it’s a free country, this blog makes you all feel good, so god bless. You are, however, objectively, verifiably wrong. Anything could possibly happen between now and November. But Obama is winning now and is statistically far more likely to be our next president than anyone else, including McCain.
yeah, since you had to tell us how smart you are, LOL is just telling us how really stupid you are.
Okay, WildChild. You just go on believing that polls lie. A majority of Americans also believe in angels, so…
I never said polls lie. I said they were made up of the thousand or so voters who answered their phone. They are. LOL for some reason that got you a bent out of shape and you felt the need to tell us how smart you are.
People believe in Messiahs, too. Just not in Barack Obama or the how the Democratic Party is going to “save the world.”
I must admit that last bit is a pickup from another Obamatron, who seriously needs to stop reading super-hero comic books or watching TV shows like “Heroes.”
Fantasy vs. reality. Magical thinking should be discarded in childhood. BO is not a Messiah. He is not the One. Not even the Second or Third.
He’s an unqualified politician, period.
See you in November!
You mean high on bullshit?