Bush vacation postponed: Georgia watch

big deal in 5 months he'll be on perm vacation

A Georgia watch, eh? Not much else he can do now. Just watch.
Russia is holding all of the cards. In it's entire history (nearly a mileneum) the Russian empire has probably never been in a more dominant position than it is in right now. NATO is in disarray as all of Europe is beholden to Mother Russia for much of it's energy.
Not a good situation for the world, considering that the new Tsar is an old Cold Warrior, a ruthless, icy KGB thug who has obliterated Russia's nascent democracy by shoring up oppressive authoritarian governance. Meanwhile eastern Europe and the break-away republics have new cause for worry as Putin fans the flames of wounded Russian national imperial pride.

John McCain just made his Vice Presidential Pick!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTmUhq9xYLI

Bush vacation postponed: Georgia watch.

McCain tells Georgian president, "Today, we're all Georgians."

...and, while on vacation in Hawaii, Obama three putts #7.

Paulo

Bhile Bush and Co. were planning their invasion for oil, those ruskies snuck right in the back door.......just add this to the long list of failures of W and his good 'ol boy network.

WOW. Bush cancels vacation. Being that he has taken more vacation time then any other president in history, its about time he did his job - sitting back and watching? What does he think this is a TV program??

Can somebody enlighten me here...

Was it not Georgia's president who made the first military move here?

And if he's such an ally, did he even consider asking the US Administration for their approval?

Vacation?? So watching the Olympics in Beijing was work?

Vacation? What do you call his trip to China? The best of seats, photos with all the teams, limo service, he hasn't come out of his pocket for anything. All expenses paid by us. We would have had to start saving and planning at the closing of the last Olympics and still not have a fraction of the priviledges. What was that European trip a while back? Was he saying goodby. He could have sent and email. Good bye and GOOD RIDDANCE!

Meanwhile, Obama is monitoring the situation from his surf board in Hawaii.
Fortunately, Obama has the good sense to lie low and let the adults handle the situation in Georgia.

Fortunately, Obama has the good sense to lie low and let the adults handle the situation in Georgia.

Posted by: Daryl | August 13, 2008 2:04 PM

Yes. Fortunately we have adults here like McBush to bang his fist and talk tough and listen to what his top foreign adviser says since he was a lobbyist for Russia and Georgia. Lobbyists will run the country with these "adults".

I think Obama sgould do like McCain. Fly to Georgia and personally fight the Russian Menace. That's what McCain is doing, right? No? Then He's leading a diplomatic mission to diffuse the crisis? No? Introducing legislation to put sanctions on Riussia? Not that either? Just making meaningless pronouncements that have no bearing on the situation? Ahh, yeah. So much more effective than Obama.

Wow, Jr, can run rough shod over a "sovereign" country in the name of the GOP and God but any other President does it he says it is "unacceptable" what a dork. George is a liar, crook and war criminal and lacks any credibility or respect on this issue by his own doing. Way to go George, way to go.

To rjinchi: I HATE George Bush, I really despise him but how in the WORLD can you say this is his failure?

Some people. ...shaking head...

Excuse me??? Wasn't he just on a vacation in China. This guy slays me. He is the most "vacationed" President in U.S. history.

He has the worst work ethic of any President in history.

I wouldn't trust this guy to run a Dairy Queen.

What a picture! Obama surfs while Georgia burns. Kind of reminds one of John Kerry on his wind surfer. Fortunately for him, Obama has staff to think up what he would say if he wasn't busy looking for jelly fish.

You know, if Obama was wading into the Russia - Georgia conflict, Paolo and his ilk would be screaming about how arrogant he was, already acting like he was president.

The fact is, there's nothing Obama (or McCain) can do. The President speaks for the US in diplomatic matters. Of course, sadly, Bush lacks any moral authority to tell Russia to stay out of another country's business.

Latrice-Please give us tyhe detailed list of accoplishments McCain has made on the Georgian crisis while Obama has been away. Not staements, actual accomplishments. Is he doing al ot for Georgia by holding fundraiser in Pennsylvania?

In case you haven't noticed, neither Obama or McCain are the President right now. They have no role in this crisis. There is no substantive action either of them can take.

Excuse me??? Wasn't he just on a vacation in China. This guy slays me. He is the most "vacationed" President in U.S. history.

Posted by: Steve M | August 13, 2008 3:00 PM

I just went on vacation at the end of July, Seven days, not counting weekends, when I didn't check my office voice mail, didn't check my work e-mail, didn't think of work at all.

If you think GWB's "vacation" is anything like that, you've not been following the news very closely. The President is on duty 24/7, and in this day of universal communication, it doesn't matter much where he is physically. It's also not unprecedented for a president to be absent from the White House for long stretches; FDR spent a lot of time in Warm Springs, GA, and Ike ran the country from trout streams and golf courses, just to name two. Clinton spent time at Camp David and back in Arkansas. So I don't know what the big deal is about Bush going back to Texas for a month; he can do as well from there as from DC.

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Posted by: Tony | August 13, 2008 1:41 PM
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No, Tony, the Georgian President did not make the first military move. The first military move came when Ossettian rebels began dropping artillery shells on Georgian civilians, killing at least 10 of them. It was only in response to that shelling, that the Georgian government decided to use military force.

"Of course, sadly, Bush lacks any moral authority to tell Russia to stay out of another country's business."
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Posted by: timhowe | August 13, 2008 3:42 PM
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You know, I keep hearing from the loony left that the Bush Administration lacks the moral authority to do anything in this crisis. I suppose that means we all ought to beat our chests in contrition - for all the guilt we ought to feel - and let Georgia go to blazes. That is a load of B.S.
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The government of Russia does not respect moral authority, and it has none of its own. Hence, the "moral authority" you say we lack would still be impotent to accomplish anything in this crisis - in the event we had it. Jimmy Carter had oodles of "moral authority," and just look at how far that got him during the Iran hostage crisis.
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What Russia respects is power. If we show them strength in this situation, we have a better chance of getting something done - than we would by invoking "moral authority" from some wimpy international pulpit.
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In any event, I defy your suggestion that we, as a nation, have no moral authority to confront the Russian Government on this issue. The President's actions in a number of areas may have been very wrong, but that does not mean that we, as a people, stand guilty along with him. I am quite sure that most of the world knows (and hopes) that Bush does not represent our wishes when he does stuff that violates our basic principles. If the American People have the "moral authority" to challenge what Russia is now doing in Georgia, then it is the duty of the U.S. government to challenge them - regardless of who holds office. And that is exactly what it ought to do.

I think Obama sgould do like McCain. Fly to Georgia and personally fight the Russian Menace. That's what McCain is doing, right? No? Then He's leading a diplomatic mission to diffuse the crisis? No? Introducing legislation to put sanctions on Riussia? Not that either? Just making meaningless pronouncements that have no bearing on the situation? Ahh, yeah. So much more effective than Obama.

Posted by: Reality | August 13, 2008 2:30 PM

Reality, don't be so uppity. Congress is not in session right now so McCain can't introduce new legislation. And if he did, Nancy "I'm Saving the Earth" Pelosi would shut down Congress again to avoid the Dems having to make a vote in an election year.

Posted by DaveB: "he can do as well from there as from DC."
Hmmm... Two possible responses:
1) Indeed, why even bother having a white house at all? Just let him telecommute and reduce the gas expenses.
2) Well now, he hasn't been doing so hot from from the DC location, so he can't do any worse from Texas, can he?

John W, how do you propose to challenge the Russians.How do you propose to "Show them strength"?

Shall we declare war? Bomb? Tell us what you think the US should do. Not a rant about the loony left, but an actual concrete proposal. Come on, you obviously think you have the answers, let's hear them.

Posted by: haydesigner | August 13, 2008 4:57 PM

My comment was intended to be neutral in that respect!

Amazing how Obama is railed agianst for taking a vacation while a US ally, Georgia, is occupied by Russians. Because you can't rail agianst Bush for doing.....I'm sorry, I forgot. What is Bush doing to help out a US ally as it was invaded by Russia? I suppose cutting his vacation short should ease the minds of Georgians.

For those people who complain about President Bush's trip to Beijing: Do you know his daily schedule? If you don't, then don't assume that the trip to Beijing is a vacation. Presidents (Republican or Democrat) don't really have "vacations". Their jobs are 24x7x365 (or 366).

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Posted by: Reality | August 13, 2008 5:22 PM
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We have little basis to declare war, as the Russians have directed none of their hostilities toward us. In any event, in our current political climate, there is little chance that Congress is going to give the President any more power to wage a foreign war. In addition, Russia can veto any Security Council resolution directed at their invasion. Thus, we can count out any meaningful action from the U.N. On the other hand, actions short of war are possible.
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First, we can (as we have already started to do) provide humanitarian assistance to Georgia. We can make our presence in the area, both through humanitarian efforts and military maneuvers, so pervasive that the Russians would know that they would risk crossing us if they continue hostilities. That might be a sufficient deterrent. We might then consider granting military aid to Georgia. We need to make them worry like a tomcat in a room full of rocking chairs.
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Second, Moscow has learned its lesson that economic power is what makes a country a true world "power." We can still threaten them on this front too. We can seek to have them blocked from entry into the WTO and thrown out of the G8. That might be too dear to Russia to run the risk.
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Third, we need to get together with our NATO allies, and get all other eastern European nations that are not NATO members into NATO. If those in the Russian leadership think they can dance a jig on Georgia and get away with it, who is to say they wouldn't have the same attitude toward some of their former Soviet satellites?
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In case you have not heard, Russia has already issued a challenge. The Russian foreign minister has told the United States that we must either stay out of Georgia or lose Russia as a partner and ally. That, among other things, means we will no longer have Russia's help to rein in Iran's nuclear program. I wonder whether allies like these aren't worse than enemies already.

Photo CC:

"White House correspondents complained of a lack of seating and other amenities on the bus ride to the Crawford ranch"

MJ, that was pehaps the most brilliant post I've seen here or anywhere else.

The last time I looked, Obama was NOT president. Why would he give up family time because of some conflict in Russia/Georgia? Other conflicts in the world including the conflicts we started never stopped our current administration from staying on vacation for 7 1/2 years!

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Posted by: MJ | August 13, 2008 1:30 PM
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I share your views concerning the threat that Russia now poses. However, I do take issue with some of your particulars, as follows:
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1. You say the Russian empire has probably never been in a more dominant position at any prior time in its history. Relatively speaking, that is simply untrue. For example, the Soviet Union was in a much stronger position militarily in the immediate wake of World War II than it is now. The Red Army in Eastern Europe was huge. The same was true of its presence in China. We, on the other hand, were more interested in getting our army home. This is why the Soviet Union was able to absorb all of Eastern Europe into its sphere of influence, and assist China and North Korea in becoming cooperating, Communist states. In contrast, Russia does not have its Eastern European satellites any more. Most of them are now members of NATO. In addition, there were a number of years when Russia had the only viable army in Europe - especially after the defeat of the Swedes at Poltava and after the defeat of Napoleon. At these times, however, the Russian leadership was more interested in trade and prosperity than conquest.
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2. Although I have no reason to doubt that Europe has become dependent on Russia for natural gas and oil, I do not understand why you claim that NATO is in disarray. If one considers that NATO now includes all but three or four of the former Warsaw Pact countries (Belarus, Ukraine & Moldova) and the former Yugoslavia, one may only conclude that NATO is stronger and a more pervasive force in Europe than it ever has been. I would wager that NATO could field a larger and better equipped army than anything Russia could muster at this point. Admittedly, Russia has been spending a lot of money on arms and building up its military infrastructure. However, it has a long way to catch up after leaving its military to languish in disrepair in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union.