Obama’s world far from reality

The News Virginian
Published: August 14, 2008

The world’s cauldrons are beginning to brim, a development that bodes ill for the world but well for John McCain’s presidential aspirations. Conservatives, who make up much of the Arizona senator’s base, regard him as an irritant but tolerable considering the alternative. As tanks roll in Georgia, McCain’s appeal increases. Whom to lead if Russia roars? Barack Obama is the answer only if vacuous oratory is a weapon in détente.
Demonstrating lethal fatuity, Obama responded to Russia’s recent thuggery with this rhetorical missile: “We should continue to push for a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an end to the violence … The U.N. must stand up for the sovereignty of its members, and peace in the world.” And doubtless, change for which we hope. It would be useful to Obama if this change began with the U.N. Security Council roster, which happens to include Russia, which happens to possess veto power.
But thanks anyway to the junior senator from Illinois. Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow.
McCain recognizes that Russia also happens to be a member of the Group of Eight and wants that to change to Russia’s exclusion. He conversely has called for Georgia’s inclusion in NATO, which had he been heeded would have given Russia pause before dispatching its goons to South Ossetia. McCain’s fear was that the absence of NATO backing would lead to Russian invasion. Well, gee, he got that one right, didn’t he?
What McCain lacks in a cohesive domestic vision he possesses in his acuity on foreign affairs. He recognized before it became vivid to others that the war in Iraq was being mismanaged. After that fact became plain and Americans soured on the war, McCain championed the surge at a time when Democrats were talking about withdrawal.
On the subject of Russia, Bush failed to recognize the authoritarian leanings of his pal, Vladmir Putin, declaring famously that he looked into Putin’s eyes, saw his soul and liked what he saw. Ignoring Putin’s soul or perhaps seeing it in a way that Bush did not, McCain said that when he gazed into the former Russian president’s eyes, he saw “a K, a G and a B.”
Obama’s words tickle, while McCain’s grate. But when the subject is foreign policy, McCain speaks with conviction, authority and depth. Obama, meanwhile, seeks to layer over his gaps in understanding with the smooth rhetoric that has propelled him to the presidency’s brink. If he crosses over, and the cauldrons pass from simmer to boil, America might long for McCain’s rasp over Obama’s hollow ring.

State must tighten strings

The anxious watchers will be many as Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and state lawmakers brandish cutting knives in the face of a possible $1-billion budget shortfall. School officials most particularly will be bracing for the slice. Already, they have been hit by soaring fuel costs, which have zipped over school budgets compiled during the spring. Kaine shied from across-the-board cuts when confronting a smaller shortfall in January. We concur with that approach to an extent. Considering the particular concerns of groups such as schools is prudent. But the state must rein in spending, which has doubled over the last decade. The spirit of frivolity is one Virginia can no longer afford.