Political Punch

President McCain. Get used to it.

For those asking what is wrong with McCain dispatching Lieberman and Graham to Georgia should take the time to understand the US constitution -- the Executive (for better or worse in this case) conducts foreign affairs and the Senate is required to confirm the foreign agreements (treaties). Senators are not empowered to negotiate with foreign entities. It could often be wise for the executive to involve legislators in the negotiation process however this would appear to be a President's choice and not a requirement and especially not an option of a Legislator to initiate in a unilateral matter. Senators McCain, Lieberman and Graham are all assuming executive authority without authorization and interfering with the constitutional operation of the US government. As such they should be subject to ethics hearings for their actions that do not reflect appropriately on the Senate of the United States.

McCain has always been the I, I, I candidate.

McCain declared, "Look, I know the area, I've been there, I know wars, I know how to win wars, and I know how to improve our capabilities so that we will capture Osama bin Laden -- or put it this way, bring him to justice... We will do it, I know how to do it."

"I know how to win wars. I know how to win wars... And if I'm elected President, I will turn around the war in Afghanistan, just as we have turned around the war in Iraq, with a comprehensive strategy for victory, I know how to do that."

What's really amazing is how the media narrative is always so far from reality. Like the media narrative that 0bama is the arrogant and cocky candidate when it is really McCain.

Russian tanks are parked less
than 20 miles from Tbilisi and
they are not leaving Georgia.

At least if you call *McCain* presumptuous, you won't get accused of using racist code words.

The current president of Russia
during his election campaign
obliquely referred to McCain's
positions as semi-senile policies
of the past.

He doesn't have a high opinion
of McCain.

I find it terribly interesting that those on the right find the Georgian folly of invading S. Ossetia, etc. to be a grave crisis in the realm of American foreign policy. This Georgian invasion was in part caused by the puffery (and unrestrained arms dealing)of the current ruling class on Pennsylvania avenue. Should we again pay in American lives for a hypocritical ideology that values nationalist self-determination only if it is the correct, Western loving kind?

The Georgian president blithely thought that the US would come to his aide if his best laid invasion plans went the way that they have gone. Sadly for Georgia, we can't really afford to get involved in their screw-up, namely trusting that this administration (or any Republican administration really has the wherewithal to stand-up to a country that still has plenty of nukes to send us all back to the Stone-age or before. This of course is geo-political reality, something the presumptuous candidate McCain can afford to ignore at his convenience, while inflaming tensions that at least appear to be subsiding as Russia fundamentally kicks Georgia's butt.

The real crisis of course has been in American leadership since the inauguration of GW Bush. That is something that will not be repaired by a political dilettante like McCain. Most like the leadership crisis will worsen and we will continue to see the slow collapse of the American experiment.

Once again Obama has handled this situation w/ a calm & clear measured response. McCain came out immediately in defense of Georgia & has made NO MENTION of the fact that Georgia started this conflict 2 weeks ago with the attacks against S.Ossetia.
How about those soundbites from McCain??? "In the 21st century Countries don't invade other Countries" or "We're all Georgians now". The conflict of interest is thick & honestly this whole thing smacks of set up. Despite media attempts to play this election as if it's close, the facts on the ground remain, The People support Obama & barring some sort of major corruption Obam wins in a landslide...

McSame is protecting his lobbying firm which is working for Georgia. If you take lobbyist money from Georgia for your campaign McSame you will pay something back. That is what McBush is doing and America should understand that his presidency will be under the direct control of lobbysts. God save America from McSame. God bless America and God bless Obama. OBAMA08.

I agree that this is a bit of an overreach by McCain, but he does have a longstanding relationship with that governement. However, Obama should be careful about throwing stones on this one after his flak/VP? said that Russia complied with Obama's demands that it withdraw. The Kaine tack is far more presumptious given that Obama was late to the game and parroted the Bush Administration, and even worse, it wasn't even true - Russia did not withdraw when Kaine said they had.

I will take McCain's presidential overreach in supporting a beleagured democracy over Obama's overreach in playing president before the David Hasselhoff fan club.

geevill: "What is wrong with Senators Lieberman and Graham going to Georgia to actually do something."

And what precisely is that?

Senator Obama holds a beerfest/rock concert/campaign rally in Germany. What is wrong with Senators Lieberman and Graham going to Georgia to actually do something.

LJ: "It just means McCain is distrustful of Saakashvili and wants reliable assessment of the situation in Georgia"

And he's going to get that from sending Joe Lieberman there for a couple days? HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Dear Mr. Tapper,

John McCain has dispatched his own “team” to Georgia to manage what he calls “the first international crisis since the cold war”.

Is it?

And, isn’t it a bit unusual for a Presidential candidate to be claiming to be managing US foreign policy? Especially a candidate who has denounced the other cadidate’s integrity and patriotism for “presumptuously” giving a speech on foreign soil?

Has any Presidential candidate in US history behaved like this?

Thanks for starting to address some of these questions in your news coverage.

So why is Obama considered "presumptuous" when he exhibits Commander-in-Chief-like actions while in Europe, but McCain's meddling in the Georgia-Russia conflict is considered "leadership"?

It just means McCain is distrustful of Saakashvili and wants reliable assessment of the situation in Georgia and especially the Russian response. Yes, he is planning for his presidency. Hope Obama isn't relying solely on the MSM to get his information on Russia and Georgia.

>The only thing that will stop the >Russians from overthrowing the Georgian >government

Is for the Georgians to stop trying to start wars against the Russians.

It's utterly ridiculous that A]George Bush is letting McCain pretend to be President and B]The Mainstream media, who not to long ago gobbled up the McCain talking point that Obama was being "presumptuous" seems to see nothing wrong with McCain talking to Saakashvili many times a day, and now sending his campaign "envoy" to meet with him in Georgia? What are they supposed to say? What promises are being made on behalf of his campaign? Did Randy Scheunemann accompany Lieberman and Graham on the trip, maybe to collect his latest payment. This reeks of "Wag the Dog".

So meeting with foreign leaders after the primary (the exact same thing as McCain did earlier) was "presumptuous", but McCain playing President, saber rattling and sending campaign envoys is completely acceptable?

McCain is the only one politicizing and attempting to score political points with it. Randy Scheunemann's probably in really deep here, and considering Georgia made the first move, it makes you wonder who emboldened Saakashvili and for what reason?

I'm an older, white working stiff who's very troubled by McCain's obvious love affair with the wealthy. He's from a distinguished Navy family. Although he followed in his father's footsteps, he does not share the idealism of his father. John McCain has always been the upwardly mobile playboy son of a distinguished family in search of a fortune and a place in history. It seems to me that he is a man of limited capacity overreaching to earn the approval of his father. Ordinarily that would not be a problem. However, as president, his belief that the best use the nation's young people is service as cannon fodder in a military whose mission is to serve the interests of the wealthy is a disservice to all those he would sacrifice to secure his place as a member of the moneyed classes.

Can you say ‘presumptious’?

Yes you can