The 3 a.m. moment – McCain blows it

Ben Smith has a good column on McCain’s bellicose response to Russia’s invasion of Georgia. Even George W. Bush has shown more statesmanship here.

‘Invasion of Georgia’—a ‘3 a.m. moment’

When the North Caucasus slid into war Thursday night, it presented Senators John McCain and Barack Obama with a true “3 a.m. moment,” and their responses to the crisis suggested dramatic differences in how each candidate, as president, would lead America in moments of international crisis.

While Obama offered a response largely in line with statements issued by democratically elected world leaders, including President Bush, first calling on both sides to negotiate, John McCain took a remarkably—and uniquely—more aggressive stance, siding clearly with Georgia’s pro-Western leaders and placing the blame for the conflict entirely on Russia.

The abrupt crisis in an obscure hotspot had the features of the real foreign policy situations presidents face—not the clean hypotheticals of candidates’ white papers and debating points.

Read the rest of his story to get the full view. It is very enlightening regarding temperament and foreign policy creds.