Ben Buckman.net

Thomas Barnett and Newsweek offer a glimpse of the dangerous relationship between John McCain and Georgian President Saakashvili:

Swigging a can of Red Bull, Saakashvili grabbed a phone and called the trusted friend and mentor he had turned to every night since Aug. 8, when the war began: John McCain. A source close to the Republican standard-beared, asking not to be named discussing a private conversation, says McCain voiced support for diplomatic and political pressure against Moscow. “Hang in there,” the senator said, according to a Saakaskvili aide on condition of anonymity. “We are not going to let this happen … We are doing everything that we can to stop this aggression.” It’s not surprising that Saakashvili, 41, known to Georgians by the nickname Misha, would turn to McCain at a moment of crisis: their decade-long friendship is among the closest McCain has with any foreign leader.

Nice to hear. A rogue, maverick senator advising foreign leaders—on the side—on how to restart the Cold War. Imagine if Obama did this, how the Republican realists would howl in contempt!
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Again, isn’t it nice to let Saakashvili declare war between Russia and the West. And why not take our strategic cues from Osama bin Laden too, deciding the “central front” of the Long War is wherever he declares it to be. And why not let Ahmadinejad run our strategic choices throughout the Persian Gulf. Hell, why not let every piss-ant populist collectively determine our entire grand strategy?

I mean, we have to take their propaganda at face value, right?

Otherwise we might get played like fools.