BallotVox

Russia-Georgia Conflict — Part II

Boxing gloves [Addictive Picasso / Flickr]

There seems to have been no fighting in Georgia so far today, but the new US-Polish missile-defense agreement — apparently a result of the conflict — has infuriated Russia. This is a quick follow-up post on the way the hostilities are playing out in the campaign.

Andy Ostroy, who blogs at The Ostroy Report, says Georgia gives McCain and the GOP “even more fodder to bolster their claim to the national-security throne.” He thinks Obama needs to come out swinging:

[A]s the battle in Georgia intensifies, McCain and Co. will relentlessly exploit this crisis in an effort to weaken Obama’s chances in November. And I’m afraid it make have some impact. The major area where McCain polls far greater than Obama is with national security; that he’s the more capable commander-in-chief, able to better handle both the war in Iraq and the threat from terrorists here at home. Russia’s march into Georgia could not have come at a worse time politically for Obama and the Democrats. Obama needs to get off the ropes in this area and aggressively go after McCain […]

A small but related tangent: McCain does have higher poll numbers on all things foreign policy, including Iraq. Recent polls also continue to show that a majority of Americans disapprove of the war in Iraq and Bush’s handling of it. So: Americans prefer McCain on Iraq, even though his position is similar to Bush’s (which they don’t like). This is curious. Can you find an answer in the blogosphere?