On the other side of the coin:
Perhaps Putin thinks Obama (the pushover) is a shoe in and thus his devil-may-care aggressive attitude toward Georgia? ;-)
I actually believe russia has determined,that there is no better time than now,and seeing that in a conventional war,they are toast,that they will make toast out of us,first.The world would believe anything,,mccain is a hothead,he started it,,at least that is what they will say.