Georgia on our minds

I know nothing about Georgia, but TigerHawk’s observations about Stateside political reactions to events there struck me as a very sensible reading [e.a.]:

The Politico fairly objectively examines how John McCain and Barack Obama responded to Russia’s invasion of South Ossetia. Both statements were clearly crafted to achieve a political objective, while at the same time preserving each candidate’s flexibility in the event that he is elected and actually has the burden of command. Money quote:

Obama’s statement put him in line with the White House, the European Union, NATO, and a series of European powers, while McCain’s initial statement—which he delivered in Iowa and ran on a blog on his Web site under the title “McCain Statement on Russian Invasion of Georgia,”—put him more closely in line with the moral clarity and American exceptionalism projected by President Bush’s first term.

That is certainly one way of looking at it.

Another is that Barack Obama took the same position as a European Union that is very worried that Russia will cut off its supplies of natural gas and the most politically weak president since Jimmy Carter’s hostage year of 1980. …

George W. Bush has given up out of political weaknesses and organizational exhaustion, Barack Obama is giving up out of transnational romanticism, and John McCain is signaling the world that the United States under his leadership will be a reliable ally.

Wretchard has a lot more at the Belmont Club.

CNN is reporting more than 2000 killed in South Ossetia, according to the Russian ambassador. Reuters reports that the Russian commander has been wounded.