OH FOR PETE'S SAKE JEEZUL ALREADY

Atrios likes to snark about how "X" is "obviously good news" for Bush/McCain/the Repugs. Stuff like "100 killed in Iraq multiple bombing" or "Iran threatens Gulf shipping" or - hey, like "Russia invades Georgia"!

Welp, the reality isn't far off - evidently an (unpaid - whee, now there's a plum job) adviser to McSame's campaign really believes the CF in the Caucasus is good news for Grumpy, 'cause he reacted so manly:

Forty years later, Russian tanks are rolling once more over their neighbors, and the images that are shaping Americans' lasting perceptions are of a president playing in the sand with the women's beach volleyball team and the presumptive Democratic nominee alternately walking along Kailua Beach and playing golf in Hawaii.

[snip]

In contrast to both Bush and Obama, McCain conveyed strength and determination. While Obama timidly urged Georgia and Russia to "show restraint and to avoid an escalation to full-scale war," McCain took to the airwaves to deliver a blunt warning to Russian President Dimitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Your actions will have "severe, long-term negative consequences" for relations with the United States and Europe, McCain declared, as he outlined a plan of action for the West to isolate and punish Russia.

Oh, dear, somebody's acting like he's President already, making demands of other countries! How presumptuous of him!

Ah, yes, "strength and determination", like calling on the already-overstretched NATO (already deployed in someplace called Afghanistan) to see what they can do to "stabilize" the situation, which the eXile's Mark Ames calls "stark-raving":

Calling on NATO to “stabilize this dangerous situation” is not going down well with Russia, where images of dead Russian peacekeepers and of frightened Ossetian refugees streaming across its borders have put the country in a very vengeful mood. It’s hard to imagine what measures NATO could take under a McCain presidency, but in the mind of a man who thinks US troops should stay in Iraq for 100 years, and who runs around singing “Bomb Bomb Iran!” it’s not hard to guess–and even harder not to be horrified by what it may mean come January 2009, should he win.

Mind you, McSame also calls on the U.N. to convene a meeting of the Security Council on the matter... which is, well, let's let Mr. Ames explain:

But McCain’s brain remains undeterred by reality, a fact that became painfully clear today in Des Moines when he also demanded, “The US should immediately convene an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council to call on Russia to reverse course.”

The problem with McCain’s bold demand about going to the UN is that Russia already tried doing exactly what McCain called for–and got rejected by McCain’s neocon pals in the Bush Administration. Early this morning, Russia convened an emergency session of the UN Security Council, calling on both sides to immediately cease hostilities, return to the negotiating table and renounce the use of force–but the last part about renouncing the use of force is exactly what Georgia’s president Mikhail Saakashvili refuses to do.

Ah. Strength and determination, indeed.

What manly action did Grumpy indeed pose for dealing with the situation?

As soon as possible my colleagues senators Lieberman and Graham will be traveling to Georgia. They're both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Oh, good 'cause they were so influential in Iraq. No carpets on sale in Georgia, I think, but maybe Graham can pick up some of those lil' Russian dolls with dolls inside them instead.

But back to that CNN commentary for the finish:

One thing Obama ought to see, however, and soon, is the tarmac at Honolulu International Airport. He needs to realize that, when you're president, you're not always in control of events, including vacations. If he fails to cut this holiday short, he might soon wind up being remembered as the guy who blew his chance to be president because he played on the beach while the Russian tanks rolled through Georgia.

Ah, yes. "When you're president, you're not always in control of events, including vacations". Oh, my, yes. (waiting for any evidence Ms. Sanchez criticized Bush at the time...)