If you've been following the developments in the Russian-Georgian war, you probably read these quotes and others like them:
"The war in Georgia escalated dangerously last night after Russian jets reportedly bombed a vital pipeline that supplies oil to the West."
"Russian forces have seized a "large arsenal" of U.S.-made weapons in the western Georgian city of Senaki including hundreds of assault rifles..."
"A Russian military convoy advanced to within 55 km (34 miles) of Tbilisi on Friday..."
You've probably also read that Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili told CNN, "The bombs that are falling on us, they have an inscription on them: This is for NATO. This is for the U.S.
What's the conflict about? Russian power? Probably. Control of oil and natural gas? Probably. Two major pipelines carry oil and gas from fields in the Caspian Sea through Georgia and to the West.
Now, throw into that mix the saber-rattling of a top Russian general who said last week that Poland's agreement to deploy a a US missile-interceptor base exposes them to attack, possibly by nuclear weapons.
This is an extremely dangerous situation, not just for Georgia and Poland, not just for that area, but for all of us.
That being the case, who do you want making U.S. foreign policy decisions? Your choices:
1. Senator McCain: A U.S. Naval Academy graduate who served 22 years in the military, who flew numerous bombing missions in Vietnam, who was shot down during his 23rd mission, causing him to eject, which knocked him unconscious and broke both arms and a leg, who then spent 5 1/2 years as a POW in Hanoi, who is a recipient of the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, and the Distinguished Flying Cross, who served as the naval liaison to the United States Senate, who served four years in the U.S. House of Representatives, who has served 22 years in the U.S. Senate, and who is the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee
2. Senator Obama: A person who organized job training programs and voter registration drives in Chicago, who has been in the U.S. Senate for 3 years, who is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who claims he knows more and understands the world better than Senator McCain, and who bases that claim upon "having lived in Indonesia for four years, having family that is impoverished in small villages in Africa" and upon taking a trip to Pakistan while in college and staying with that friend's family for three weeks.
The world is a dangerous place. If you and your family were aboard a commercial airliner cruising at 30,000 feet and there were an explosion in one of the engines, who would you want at the controls: a pilot with hundreds of thousands of miles under his belt, or one who just earned his commercial license three months ago?