{"id":3080,"date":"2008-08-14T20:09:32","date_gmt":"2008-08-15T01:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=3080"},"modified":"2008-08-14T20:09:32","modified_gmt":"2008-08-15T01:09:32","slug":"a-kid-with-barely-a-learner%e2%80%99s-permit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=3080","title":{"rendered":"A Kid with barely a Learner\u2019s Permit"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was a Fred Thompson supporter before I succumbed to the McCain train. I still like Thompson’s down home straight-talk style. He concurs that the situation in Georgia should give pause to those that would make Obama the leader of the free world.<\/p>\n

While Obama might find the need now to visit Georgia for another celebrity world tour photo op, McCain has already been there;\u00a0some time ago.<\/p>\n

Dangerous Times In Georgia Demand Serious Leadership<\/a><\/div>\n

My mind goes back to August 2002 in Tbilisi, as I visited Georgia with John McCain. I remember it feeling rather dark and secretive, with the former-Soviet Union\u2019s heavy hand still making its presence felt.<\/em><\/p>\n

What has happened in Georgia since that time should not be surprising to anyone. Certainly Russia has tried to pretty itself up: it renamed the KGB and even gave its 21st century strongman Vladimir Putin a new title. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But for some time we\u2019ve seen Russia sliding back to its authoritarian comfort zone. Murder, imprisonment and property confiscation are back in vogue for any perceived troublemaker.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But the one thing we must not do is allow Russia to feel it can get away with (it)<\/p>\n

All the while, in Eastern Europe some of America\u2019s staunchest friends are watching to see what the reaction of the U.S. and the west will be to Russia\u2019s latest gambit. The U.S. and others use the word \u201cunacceptable,\u201d undoubtedly with the same effect that we get when we use it with the Iranians. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But the one thing we must not do is allow Russia to feel it can get away with, let alone feel rewarded for, this invasion of a sovereign democratic nation that has also loyally supported coalition efforts in Iraq.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The world is devolving dangerously…and the Democrats are fueling the ambitions of those that would bring harm to the free world.<\/p>\n

While this crisis plays out we should also note that these events give evidence of a larger reality: the next American President is going to face an international landscape that is more difficult and treacherous than we have ever faced. <\/em><\/p>\n

Little help can be expected from our friends in Europe no matter how much it appears that their own interests are at stake.<\/em><\/p>\n

So let\u2019s recap: international terrorism; powerful nation states on a quest for hegemony, whether close to home or further afield and with a willingness to squelch freedom anytime the opportunity arises; less stable and no less dangerous countries with nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities; an alliance of democratic nations of questionable resolve and a debate at home over our future role in the world with a political party happy to create the impression of diminished resolve with little concern for the long term damage such an impression may cause. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

McCain leads the way\u00a0while Obama body surfs in Hawaii with 80 some\u00a0days left until the election.<\/p>\n

This is no time to elect a president whose international experience is limited to speaking to adoring European crowds who want to see the United States retreat from the world \u2026 until they require our help in the next crisis that threatens them. <\/em><\/p>\n

It has been instructive for the country to see the candidates\u2019 reaction to the equivalent of Hillary Clinton\u2019s 3 a.m. phone call. While he was vacationing in Hawaii, Barack Obama\u2019s advisors scrambled into action and initially came up with the expected liberal bromides which equated the actions of Russia and Georgia and only ratcheted up the rhetoric when they began to actually understand what was happening. <\/em><\/p>\n

…long before this Georgian crisis, (McCain has) had the correct read on Russia, just as he\u2019s had the right read on what we needed to do in Iraq. <\/em><\/p>\n

This crisis half a world away confirms what I\u2019ve been saying for a while: This election cycle, the traffic in the world is very heavy \u2026and dangerous; it\u2019s no time to give a kid with barely a learner\u2019s permit the keys to the car. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

McCain may be far from the perfect\u00a0“conservative” candidate but he called the surge correctly and is exhibiting the leadership requisite for the times.<\/p>\n

The Russian attack on Georgia is an unfortunate but illustrative trial run for those that would be President.<\/p>\n

Obama is treading water.<\/p>\n

McCain has revealed a clear, firm, but steady edict for the Russians;\u00a0exactly what the world needs from\u00a0America right now.<\/p>\n

Hillary was right about one thing. We don’t want to be calling Obama at 3 a.m. or any other time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was a Fred Thompson supporter before I succumbed to the McCain train. I still like Thompson’s down home straight-talk style. He concurs that the situation in Georgia should give pause to those that would make Obama the leader of the free world. While Obama might find the need now to visit Georgia for another […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":228,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campaign-08","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/228"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3080\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}