Astronauts and Christians

Nice to see Obama's space policy endorsed by former astronauts John Glenn and Ben Nelson:

Two well-known space pioneers on Sunday endorsed Senator Barack Obama's space program, which calls for lengthening the life of the Space Shuttle so that the U.S. is not without its own ride to the International Space Station.

Former Ohio Senator John Glenn and current U.S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, both former astronauts, said flying the shuttle beyond 2010 may now be critical in light of Russia's recent invasion of the Republic of Georgia.

Just in case you thought a new Cold War would be Republican-only?

Meanwhile, Barack's been talking to influential evangelical voters, which helps kill the Muslim smear and also show, in this clip, his toughness and rectitude.

There's a lot of fear right now that McCain will somehow win. And that is always a danger -- Obama, by historical measures, is an underdog until November 5th, no matter how far ahead he may be in the polls.

But Obama has always been a strong finisher. In the only truly competitive campaign of his political career, for the GOP Presidential nomination in 2000, John McCain was completely outflanked by Karl Rove and George W. Bush.

Obama didn't need to be pounding McCain last month as much as he needs to starting with his nomination acceptance speech a week from Thursday. He has to send the delegates out of Colorado, the organizers, even the news media fired up and completely ready to go.

Obama's been the best at pacing himself, storing energy where he can and unleashing moving political ideas and spectacle. He has a great shot at bringing all but the least forgiving Clinton supporters into the fold. After all, there will be openings on the Court.

I guess the bottom line is, do you trust him to run the best Democratic Convention since 1932?

Dogs

Our army trained the Georgian solders who invaded South Ossetia, starting the skirmish with Russia and Putin proved ready to escalate into a war. Another colossal miscalculation by Dick Cheney behind the throne of George Bush?

With Bush and McCain echoing their willfully oblivious "21st Century countries don't invade sovereign nations" line, and McCain's close adviser also Georgia's paid lobbyist in D.C., it all is starting to look a little color-coordinated. But both Bush and McCain are spreading the poor little Georgia meme, but even Fox television can't stop the truth from slipping through.

Meanwhile, the Administration that keeps on giving is getting yet another new investigation. Ron Suskind's allegations of Dick Cheney's forgery shop has our district's Rep., the awesome Henry Waxman, call his committee back early from summer break to dig in.

Drink up, George. It's almost over. Please end in a whimper, because I don't know if we can survive another bang.

Dangerous Candidate

It looks like the U.S. posturing in the Georgia debacle may ultimately be about -- surprise, surprise -- oil:

American policy makers hoped that diverting oil around Russia would keep the country from reasserting control over Central Asia and its enormous oil and gas wealth and would provide a safer alternative to Moscow’s control over export routes that it had inherited from Soviet days. The tug-of-war with Moscow was the latest version of the Great Game, the 19th-century contest for dominance in the region...

...Now energy experts say that the hostilities between Russia and Georgia could threaten American plans to gain access to more of Central Asia’s energy resources at a time when booming demand in Asia and tight supplies helped push the price of oil to record highs.

So is it any surprise that presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Senator John McCain is in bed with Georgia, who's President Mikheil Saakashvili started the fighting in the first place with at least a silent nod from the U.S. -- if not more -- and is somehow yet to pay the price in the U.S. media? The name is Randy Schuenemann:

Randy Scheunemann earned about $70,000 serving as Sen. John McCain's top foreign policy adviser between the January 2007 and May 15, 2008.

During the same period, the government of Georgia paid his firm $290,000 in lobbying fees...

...On April 17, McCain got on the phone with Georgia President Mikheil Saakashvili about Russian efforts to gain leverage over two of Georgia's troubled provinces. That same day, McCain issued a public statement condemning Russia and expressing strong support for the Georgian position.

And also on that same day, Georgia signed a new, $200,000 lobbying contract with Scheunemann's firm, Orion Strategies, according to the Post.

Think there might be a conflict of interests? And with McCain always itching to start another Cold War with Russia (nostalgic for his youth?), he's escalating by sending campaign surrogates -- John thinks he can win the election on the basis of a new neocon revival against Russia.

But of all the quotes today about the conflict, this one takes the cake:



Make an embroidered pillow out of it: "In the 21st century, nations don’t invade other nations." Like the last five years in Iraq never happened.

Willful omission or yet another "senior moment?"

Both answers bode ill.

Georgia On My Mind

The NYTimes puts it straight:

The United States and Europe also need to take a hard look at their relationship with Russia going forward. Neither has protested loudly or persuasively enough as Mr. Putin has used Russia’s oil and gas wealth to blackmail its neighbors, throttled Russia’s free press and harassed and imprisoned opponents.

The Bush administration has made Mr. Putin’s job even easier, feeding nationalist resentments with its relentless drive for missile defense. The Europeans, who are far too dependent on Russian gas supplies, have deluded themselves into believing that they alone will be safe from Moscow’s bullying.

The U.S. is pretending it's tight with Georgia, but we're not showing up. The question is whether showing up is in our national interest or not, or is there another way. What are our objectives...and what are Russia's? Are there any good choices?

This guy's acting like he's looking for a fight:

His hard line has been derided as provocative, and possibly dangerous, by some so-called realist foreign policy experts, who warn that isolating Russia would do little to encourage it to change. But others, including neoconservatives who deem promoting democracy a paramount goal, see Mr. McCain’s position as principled, and prescient. Now, with Russia moving forcefully into Georgia as Mr. McCain seeks the presidency, his views are being scrutinized as never before through the prism of Russia’s invasion.

McCain and his advisor Robert Kagan are the same guys who got us into an unprovoked war in Iraq. Their judgment is bankrupt.

Or do you need more convincing:



Obama here:

The relationship between Russia and the West is long and complicated. There have been many turning points, for good and ill. This is another turning point. Let me be clear: we seek a future of cooperative engagement with the Russian government, and friendship with the Russian people. We want Russia to play its rightful role as a great nation - but with that role comes the responsibility to act as a force for progress in this new century, not regression to the conflicts of the past. That is why the United States and the international community must speak out strongly against this aggression, and for peace and security.

Wild in the streets.