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Is This What I Paid For?
Talking Points Memo —
... This morning Saakashvili told CNN: "Yesterday, I heard Sen. McCain say, 'We are all Georgians now,'" Saakashvili said on CNN's American Morning. "Well, very nice, you know, very cheering for us to hear that, but OK, it's time to pass from this. From words to deeds." ...
Limits in Georgia
Ben Smith's Blog —
The basic problem in Georgia, as crystalized by its president:
“Yesterday, I heard Sen. McCain say, ‘We are all Georgians now,’” Saakashvili said on CNN’s American Morning. “Well, very nice, you know, very cheering for us to hear that, but OK, it’s time to pass from this. From words to deeds.”
Deeds? Even McCain -- most anti-Russian of American politicians -- hasn't even hinted at seeking military confrontation with Russia.
Who's presumptuous now
The Reaction —
By Creature I can't help but think that all this presidenting John McCain is doing on the Russia-Georgia front is going to backfire. His prancing and squawking is transparently self-serving (not to mention his top adviser has been lining his lobbying-pockets for years with Georgian money). The only thing John McCain has accomplished this week is that he has solidified his neocon credentials and if that's a plus in a post-Iraq America then I'm Ronald Reagan. ...
Saakashvili lets the cat out of the bag
Left I on the News —
CNN has an article about Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili calling on John McCain and other American leaders [sic] to "move from words to deeds." But the most interesting thing in the article is the next to last sentence: ...
GEORGIA CHESS: McCain Falls into Saakashvili's Trap
Taylor Marsh —
... Mr.
Experience just got played, so did the American puditocracy that seems to be stuck on stupid. Yesterday, John McCain was all... ...
Is Russia John McCain’s “August Surprise?”
Firedoglake —
... were purchased via his lobbyist campaign staff. Or that the whole thing was triggered by a bunch of US neocon saber rattling that we don't actually have the ability to back up.
War in the middle east not going so well, so let's go back to the cold war? By all means, roll out the Kagans, let the "today it's Georgia, tomorrow it's Poland" WWIII/Hitler analogies commence.
Great idea. Eight more years, why not?
Saakashvilli is cooperating: ...
Who Does John McCain Think He Is?
Oliver Willis —
... It’s kind of funny that McCain has hit Obama for being presumptous, and yet it is McCain who put himself forward as if he were president and is now being called on it by the Georgian president ...
Bush/Rice Georgia Debacle Also Reveals McCain’s Recklessness
Firedoglake —
... Of course, our media will continue to report this episode as revealing McCain's superior claim to be Commander in Chief, but at least Saakashvili is no longer fooled; he probably wants a refund from Scheunemann and an explanation about whatever McCain led him to believe. ...
Dear Georgia, Despite what your lobbyist might have told you, McCain isn't the President and can't make policy
AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth —
Today's Washington Post filled us in on the relationship between the government of Georgia and John McCain's top foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann. Seems for quite awhile, Mr. Scheunemann served two masters at the same time: Georgia and McCain. Matt Yglesias, from his new perch at Think Progress notes that Georgia's president wants more than words from McCain. He wants action. Matt wrote: it looks like Mikhail Saakashvili thought it meant something when John McCain proclaimed America and Georgia to be identical.Georgia ...
Showdown: Bush sends “humanitarian” aid to Georgia as Russians advance
Hot Air » Top Picks —
... to Saakashvili that don’t really sound all that mixed. Publicly the administration’s shown consistent solidarity, and privately they’ve made it abundantly clear that he shouldn’t do anything nutty like, er, invade South Ossetia. Assuming that’s true, he’s playing dumb, going on CNN this morning to say he appreciated McCain’s encouraging words yesterday but that words don’t mean much vis-a-vis those all-important deeds they’re counting on. Well, he’s got some deeds now. Stand by for updates as the Cold War II ...
McAllTalk called by Saakashvili
Martini Revolution —
... , “do such things, what they are, yet he knows not, but they shall be the terrors of the earth,” Georgia’s president is seemingly underwhelmed by McCain’s strident gum-flapping. ...
Wednesday’s Mini-Report
Political Animal —
... * McCain really isn’t helping: “Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili on Wednesday called for John McCain and other American leaders to do more for Georgia in their response to the conflict in his country. ‘Yesterday, I heard Sen. McCain say, ‘We are all Georgians now,” Saakashvili said on CNN’s American Morning. ‘Well, very nice, you know, very cheering for us to hear that, but OK, it’s time to pass from this. From words to deeds.’” ...
McCain’s Approach Would Make Us Miss The Deft Diplomatic Touch Of George W. Bush
Wonk Room —
... , John McCain intends to politicize and personalize the Russia-Georgia conflict as much as he can. His campaign has been relentlessly touting McCain’s personal relationship with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili — this story has McCain foreign policy adviser and former Georgia lobbyist Randy Scheunemann claiming that McCain and the Georgian president are “ ...
I Wonder If There Are Some McCain Supporters Thinking The Tsar's Tanks Are Approaching Atlanta And Have Devastated Macon
DownWithTyranny! —
... fed him a ridiculous and hyperbolic line: "We are all Georgians now." Unless he was just talking about the lobbyist and Neocon crowd that goaded Saakashvili into attacking South Ossetia last Thursday, McCain is on his own planet. But the Georgian president is clinging to McCain's phrase like a piece of floating driftwood after his rowboat overturned in shark infested water. ...
In Georgia, Guns Or Butter-In-The-Form-Of-Politicians?
The Atlantic Politics Channel —
... Analysis: I don't think Georgia wants two politicians. I think they want guns and ammo and intel. Although Graham is a reservist, so maybe he can help... ...
Saakashvili to McCain, short version: "Help us or STFU."
WTF Is It Now?!? —
Slightly longer version: "Don't write the checks if your ass can't cash them." Story and video here. Related: Wonkette describes the neocon boner at having a new Hot and Cold Running War to fight, "this time with . . . DIGITAL FIRE STEAMFUCK LIBERTY NUKES." Dang. I can hardly wait. Oh, except we have nothing to fight this war with, even if we wanted to. We're still in Iraq, stupid. --divageek
What to Do about Georgia
Weekly Standard Blog —
President Mikheil Saakashvili is understandably upset that Western leaders have offered little more than rhetoric:
Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili on Wednesday called for John McCain and other American leaders to do more for Georgia in their response to the conflict in his country.
“Yesterday, I heard Sen. McCain say, ‘We are all Georgians now,’” Saakashvili said on CNN’s American Morning. “Well, very nice, you know, very cheering for us to hear that, but OK, it’s time to pass from this. From words to deeds.”
To be fair, ...
Today on Doing Time- Thursday, August 14, 2008
The Latest on Air America —
RUSSIA GEORGIA The struggle continues as peace talks fizzle. Russian tanks push deeper into Georgia , and the Georgian President now calls on McCain, who yesterday said, “We are all Georgians now”, to walk the walk . ARKANSAS SHOOTING Sadly, Arkansas Dem Party Chair ...
American Foreign Policy Should Never Be For Sale To The Highest Bidder
DownWithTyranny! —
... . That's a lot of money and people who pay it out expect something in return-- which is why Mikheil Saakashvili demanded that McCain go beyond just running his mouth and do something concrete to save his job.
Six Ways of Looking At Johm McCain's Meddling In Georgian/Russian Affairs-Part 1
Open Left - Front Page —
... brave little nation as they struggle today for their freedom and independence. And he wanted me to say thank you to you, to give you his heartfelt thanks for the support of the American people for this tiny little democracy far away from the United States of America. And I told him that I know I speak for every American when I say to him, ' Today, we are all Georgians,' " McCain declared.
The pledge, however, struck even his good friend Saakashvili as rather hollow, as CNN's Politicker reported:
Yesterday, I heard Sen. McCain say, 'We are ...
