Georgia tests candidates' diplomacy

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By Joseph Curl and Donald Lambro

The two senators auditioning for the role of commander in chief had a surprise dress rehearsal over the weekend with the sudden hostility in Georgia, and their starkly different initial performances give voters an insight into how the candidates would handle a middle-of-the-night crisis.

Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain issued statements on the quickly escalating situation in Georgia within minutes of each other Friday morning. While the Democrat said "I strongly condemn the outbreak of violence in Georgia" and called for "all sides" to enter talks, the Republican immediately blamed Russia as the aggressor, demanding they "immediately and unconditionally … withdraw all forces from sovereign Georgian territory" and laying out a specific course for the United States and world leaders to take.

"They made [Mr. Obama] look like a deer caught in the headlights," said Ariel Cohen, senior research fellow in Russian studies at the Heritage Foundation. "The McCain campaign is way ahead of him by advocating a serious and multilayered global diplomatic response."

Praise for Mr. McCain's response also came from a respected Democratic foreign policy analyst who has been an adviser to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"McCain certainly impresses me with the way he has handled it," said Michael O'Hanlon, senior foreign policy analyst at the Brookings Institution. "McCain is the one who has distinguished himself here."

The Obama campaign said the senator, on his way to Hawaii for a weeklong vacation with family and friends, was working with the best available information at the time the candidate made his Friday morning statement.

"The senator's first statement was based primarily on news and staff reports — and included information from [National Security Adviser] Steve Hadley," said Obama spokesman Wendy Morigi. "At that point, we all believed that de-escalation was possible, and that's what Senator Obama urged, along with the U.S. government and our allies."

The story broke around 3 a.m. Friday, with wire reports that Russia had bombed several sites in Georgia. Minutes later, President Mikhail Saakashvili announced that his country was besieged by a "large-scale military" invasion and called for a "total mobilization" of his nation's troops.

Mr. Obama made no mention of the Russian aggression in his first reaction to the invasion, delivered to reporters at 11:32 a.m. Friday.

"I strongly condemn the outbreak of violence in Georgia, and urge an immediate end to armed conflict," the Democratic presidential candidate said in the one-paragraph statement.