Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Mona Charen: The 3 a.m. Phone Call Is Real ( Obama vs. McCain )
townhall.com ^ | August 14, 2008 | Mona Charen

Posted on 08/13/2008 10:11:59 PM PDT by kellynla

Hillary Clinton's best anti-Obama ad came to be known as the "3 a.m. phone call." It stoked voter worries that in the event of an international crisis, the first-term junior senator from Illinois might be out of his depth. On Aug. 8, the White House phone did ring, alerting President Bush that the Soviet Union, um, that is, Russia, had just sent columns of tanks and armored personnel carriers across the internationally recognized border of Georgia (formerly the Soviet Socialist Republic of Georgia), a tiny, democratic, America-friendly, Western-leaning country in the Caucasus mountains.

It was a near perfect laboratory test -- the sort that real life rarely provides until it's too late -- for how the two nominees for president would respond to an international emergency. (It also tested the current president -- more on that in a moment.) Sen. Obama flunked. His first response was to urge restraint upon "both sides" -- that is upon the rapist and the rape victim.

(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2008; 3am; election; foreignpolicy; issues; mccain; monacharen; obama; war
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-32 next last
"Americans had already expressed misgivings about Barack Obama's preparedness for the harsh world we inhabit. This laboratory test can only increase that anxiety."


1 posted on 08/13/2008 10:12:00 PM PDT by kellynla
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: kellynla
Obama thinks he can command the Russians to desist. Vladimir Putin would just laugh at the pretender of a messiah.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

2 posted on 08/13/2008 10:13:56 PM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: kellynla

Mona Charen is a racist! She wouldn’t be saying that if Jimmy Carter were president! Oh. Well, if Bill Clinton were president! Oh again. Well, what if Ronald Reagan were...never mind. She’s still a racist, though.


3 posted on 08/13/2008 10:20:16 PM PDT by Eleutheria5 (http://ww-w.publishedauthors.net/benmaxwell/index.html or try http://astore.amazon.com/bemasnebo-20)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: goldstategop
Vladimir Putin would just laugh at the pretender of a messiah.

He is already laughing and invaded Georgia because he knows that even if Hussein doesn't win, the US Congress and media is still socialist and com-symp.

4 posted on 08/13/2008 10:23:31 PM PDT by Rome2000 (Peace is not an option)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: kellynla

Heck, George Bush flunked.

I saw him in the stands at the Olympics cheering while innocents expecting his protection were murdered.


5 posted on 08/13/2008 10:32:21 PM PDT by Uncle Miltie (Bernanke is a Monetary Slut!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Uncle Miltie

What would you have done Hot Shot?


6 posted on 08/13/2008 10:36:36 PM PDT by al baby (Hi mom Cracker power Brother)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: al baby

Jeez. List of 37 things comes to mind. Can’t you come up with a few dozen in a minute or two?


7 posted on 08/13/2008 10:38:16 PM PDT by Uncle Miltie (Bernanke is a Monetary Slut!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Uncle Miltie

I asked you


8 posted on 08/13/2008 10:38:50 PM PDT by al baby (Hi mom Cracker power Brother)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: al baby

Okay go.

1. Go back to Washington
2. Summon the Russian Ambassador and read him the riot act in public
3. Accelerate NATO membership for Georgia
4. Accelerate NATO membership for Ukraine
5. Joint Communique with G7 that Russia will not be re-invited to anything like a G8.
6. Announce opposition to Russia’s WTO membership.
7. Speech at the U.N. condemning the invasion.
8. Sail a Naval task force to the Black Sea.
9. Fly a few stealth bombers over Russian troops in Georgia and give them a sonic boom.
10. Arms shipments to Georgia
11. Deadline for withdrawal of all Russian troops from all Georgian territory.
12. Withdraw U.S. from Russian Olympics.
13. Start disinvestment movement.
14. Send Congress legislation limiting private U.S. investment in Russia.
15. Send some diplomats home.
16. Call Putin the thug that he is in public with a bill of particulars.
17. Encourage the Russian democrats.
18. Document Putins electoral abuses.
19. Set the Israelis loose on Iran, especially the crappy Russian equipment they use (air defense; needs doing anyway)
20. Loan Georgia whatever funds it needs.
21. Send Georgia whatever military equipment it requests.
22. Fly satellites over Russian positions and deliver excellent intelligence to Georgia. Inform the world we are doing it.

(Breather....)


9 posted on 08/13/2008 10:50:10 PM PDT by Uncle Miltie (Bernanke is a Monetary Slut!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: al baby

I’m just getting started. George did virtually NOTHING!!!


10 posted on 08/13/2008 10:50:36 PM PDT by Uncle Miltie (Bernanke is a Monetary Slut!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: al baby

23. Move further faster on missile defence with Poland and Czech Republic.
24. Deploy a large naval contingent to Russia’s East Coast.
25. Cat and mouse with Stealth Bombers near Russia’s southern border.
26. Find some Russian mobsters in the U.S. linked to Putin and throw them in jail on some sketchy charges.
27. Freeze any Russian politician’s assets in the U.S.
28. Disallow U.S. Oil Companies from selling technology to Russia.
29. Restrict flow of computer technology to Russia.
30. Start that Council of Democracies. Don’t invite Russia.
31. Go remove that Russian flag from the floor of the sea at the North Pole. Bring it home to an American Naval Base where it becomes target practice.
32. Deniably cut some undersea fiber optic cables that service Russia. (Somebody’s been doing that elsewhere....why not us?)
33. Refuse to meet with Medvedev. Call him a puppet.

Your turn.


11 posted on 08/13/2008 10:57:41 PM PDT by Uncle Miltie (Bernanke is a Monetary Slut!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Uncle Miltie

Have you anything effective to suggest our President do?


12 posted on 08/13/2008 11:06:34 PM PDT by rockinqsranch (Say Obama were "Pinky", Then who is "The Brain"?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: rockinqsranch

Everything above is short of a shooting war with Russia. I don’t think that is called for. However, I do believe many of the items listed above would be effective in curbing Russian behavior over time. Doing essentially nothing encourages them.

I’ll accept further suggestions from the assembled FReepers, and support virtually anything short of our boots on the ground shooting at Russians.

If that’s not “effective,” then you’re suggesting that nothing short of war is ever effective. The Soviet Union was brought down without war.


13 posted on 08/13/2008 11:10:28 PM PDT by Uncle Miltie (Bernanke is a Monetary Slut!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: goldstategop

“Obama thinks he can command the Russians to desist. Vladimir Putin would just laugh at the pretender of a messiah.”

And then offer him a “cup of tea”


14 posted on 08/13/2008 11:12:07 PM PDT by Scotswife
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Uncle Miltie
That's mostly a good start. Might have trouble with this one though:

9. Fly a few stealth bombers over Russian troops in Georgia and give them a sonic boom.

I don't think stealth bombers do that.

15 posted on 08/13/2008 11:13:09 PM PDT by xjcsa (Has anyone seen my cornballer?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: xjcsa

Thanks for the support. We have some “GWB walks on water” kool-aid drinkers here. They must like Amnesty too.


16 posted on 08/13/2008 11:14:05 PM PDT by Uncle Miltie (Bernanke is a Monetary Slut!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Uncle Miltie

Little problem with #9, Miltie.

The B-2 is a sub-sonic bomber. Can’t fly faster than sound, ergo, no sonic boom.

The only “stealth” aircraft that can go supersonic and can carry a bomb or two is the F-22, even though it is technically not a ‘stealth’ aircraft.


17 posted on 08/13/2008 11:16:42 PM PDT by hoagy62 (No surrender, no retreat, no quarter, no compromise...no kidding!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: hoagy62

Reagan sent an SR-71 through Nicaraugua at treetop level! LOL. The Sandis had to change underwear.


18 posted on 08/14/2008 2:21:58 AM PDT by wastoute
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: hoagy62

Oh, don’t go raining on Uncle Miltie’s anti-Bush hysteria parade. It is all he has.


19 posted on 08/14/2008 3:57:49 AM PDT by Redleg Duke ("All gave some, and some gave all!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Uncle Miltie
I saw him in the stands at the Olympics cheering while innocents expecting his protection were murdered.


20 posted on 08/14/2008 4:10:25 AM PDT by Fundamentally Fair (If given a choice between a POW and a POS, I'll take the POW.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-32 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson