THE REPUBLICANS AND THE REIGNITION OF THE COLD WAR

THE REPUBLICANS, AND THE REIGNITION OF THE COLD WAR
Content: When the Iraq war started I remember saying to a friend of mine that I was surprised the Russians didn't do more to either try and stop us, or really give us trouble once we went in. After all, they had a lot at stake. Contracts, large sums of money, and strategic concerns. But they were in tranistion, and couldn't really focus on the Iraq situation as much as they might have liked. The Russians stayed out of it.
Now we find ourselves 7 years down the road. Putin has picked Medvedev as his successor, and the price of oil has skyrocketed. Now Russia is an Oil power, and she wants to be taken seriously.

For John McCain and Sarah Palin, the reality of a future world with Russia extends to bringing its former satellites like Ukraine and Georgia into the NATO fold, and boxing the Russians in at every turn.

To me, what's so unsettling about Palin's response to the Georgia question from ABC last week, besides her obvious ignorance of the most basic of foreign policy ideas, was her readiness, without obviously knowing anything about world affairs to commit one of the worst errors in foreign policy. Don't arouse the sleeping bear. Napoleon and Hitler both learned this lesson in the most brutal of ways.

Everyone knows that Russia isn't going away, and as Tom Friedman so aptly put it today on GPS, we're going to have to live in a world where we need Russia to get anything done. From oil to Europe, to engaging the Iranians, to dealing with loose nuclear materials, to getting anything done at the UN, we are destined to live in a world with a more aware Russia, a bolder Kremlin, and a smarter and more savvy Russian population.

If the Republicans succeed this Fall, A reignition of the Cold War could ensue, something that at the least would be counterproductive, and at the most utterly insane. Kennedy stared down Russia at a time when the US was very confident and strong. Mr McCain and Mrs Palin would face a much richer Russia at a time when we are in financial crisis, when our military is stretched t it's limit, and our nation is split down the middle idealogically.

Mr McCain and Mrs Palin seem to have little regard for history. An engaged Russia is a happy Russia. Wave a trout in the face of the bear, and you will get it taken away. Try and provoke her, and she'll take your head off. Perhaps Mr McCain and Mrs Palin should stop their sabre rattling, because as we all know, the Russians are much better at Sabre's than we are.

PALIN AND MCCAIN ARE SIMPLY WRONG FOR OUR COUNTRY

i'm a bit confused at this whole Sarah Palin thing. I know why conservative, Republican, right to life women would vote for her, but why McCain would think any Democratic women from the Hillary camp would somehow miraculously give up their rights on everything from a womans right to choose, to equal pay rights, to health care rights because he chose a woman as his VP pick is absurd, and shows just how uninformed McCain and his people are.

Sarah Palin is no Hillary Clinton. She didn't shatter, or even dent the glass ceiling. Clinton got 18 million votes. For that matter, Obama got even more. No one has voted for Sarah Palin in this election yet. That's her greatest weakness. She is fluff, someone for McCain to oggle at when he thinks the cameras aren't looking, and a bone throw to the Republican base to keep them quiet and happy. How can any mother who claims to be so concerned about her children never explain the idea of contraception to her very pretty teenager daughter? Why is a public official CCing her private citizen husband on State business. How can a woman who claims to be a law abiding figure subvert her own governments rules to nefariously arrange to fire her sisters ex husband from the Alaska state trooper force. The fact is that John Mccain and especially Sarah Palin WILL appoint justices to the supreme court who will severely curtail if not totally revoke YOUR right to choose?

Now, i'm a guy, and I don't have to face the abortion issues the way women do, but if I was an Independent or Democratic woman, I would never be able to forgive myself if I voted for Palin just because she's a woman. Make no mistake about it, she's a right wing Republican first and woman second, or as she likes to say " A pitt bull with lipstick". Not an attractive look, and definately a very unattractive Vice -presidential candidate, and even worse, a possibly nightmarish president. Women out there better get smart. she might be one of you physically, but that's where the similarity ends.