Tipsheet

Chalk Up Two For McCain

Barack can put Joe Biden on the ticket, but it's not going to change the fact that his inexperience when it comes to foreign policy, coupled with his lefty "blame America first" impulses, render his judgment significantly less than trustworthy.

First, he thought we had lost the Iraq war and should withdraw immediately with our tail between our legs.  John McCain supported the surge that has resulted in success.

Now we're faced with another foreign policy challenge centering around Russia's emerging aggression within the old Soviet Union and new diplomatic overtures to Iran.  Even before the invasion, it seems that Barack completely misread what the Russians were about.  Check out this July 12, 2008 piece from Reuters:

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama opposes excluding Russia from the Group of Eight industrial nations, as suggested by Republican rival John McCain, saying Moscow's cooperation was needed in the fight against nuclear proliferation.

"It would be a mistake  . . . Look, if we're going to do something about nuclear proliferation, just to take one issue that I think is as important as any on the list, we've got to have Russia involved," the Illinois senator said.

Hm.  His emphasis on the outstretched hand of friendship to Moscow seems a little, shall we say, outdated in light of the August 8 Russian invasion of Georgia, doesn't it?  Anyone here think that Putin & Co. is interested in good faith work to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear weapons -- and to prevent Iran from obtaining nukes, given their new diplomatic closeness?

Is this really a time for a newbie Commander-in-Chief?

Chalk up another one for McCain.