MC CAIN MUST BE DESPERATE TO PICK SARAH PALIN

Steve Clemons writing in his blog The Washington Note has an interesting post on Sarah Palin. Steve thinks that Palin can do damage to Obama and that she should not be underestimated. I left a note on his blog and here it is:

"Hi Steve, I cannot believe women are going to find Sarah Palin attractive and dynamic enough to vote for her. What is her vita? That she was a governor of Alaska! Is she capable of becoming president? Does anyone really think she is! And how about her five kids all under 17?

"Sure Palin is articulate and bright, but to run for vice president is a bit of a stretch, don't you think?

"McCain must be desperate.

"As for Obama and Biden, of course they should treat up with respect, avoid being condescending or disrespectful."

BARACK OBAMA NEEDS TO RE-THINK BLIND APPROVAL OF SAAKASHVILI AND CONDEMNATION OF RUSSIA

Now that Joe Biden is selected as VP candidate for the Democrats, I call upon Barack to give us a more realistic policy towards Russia, Georgia and South Ossetia. As Ellen Barry reports in today's Sunday The New York Times, the languages of the Caucasus are varied and unrelated. Why is this important? Because it shows that Georgia cannot validly claim that South Ossetia "belongs" to it culturally or linguistically.

The Ossetians apparently prefer to have nothing to do with Georgians. Their languages and their cultures and their histories are totally different.

So instead of supporting that hot head Georgian Saakashvili in his military quest to re-take South Ossetia, Barack should have a more nuanced approach. First condemn Saakashvili for starting this silly bloody conflict. Second, personally confer with Putin and Medvedev on holding a referendum for the people in South Ossetia and also in Abhkazia to decide if they want independence or if they want to associate with Georgia, and get firm commitments that both Georgia and Russia will abide by the results.

To blindly support Saakashvili and Georgia in their quest to subjugate South Ossetia and Abhkazia is simplistic and undemocratic. The peoples of those regions should have the determining voice. Don't go along with Bush and the culturally insensitive Republicans who support Saakashvili because he speaks good English and is thought to pro-American.

SEN. BIDEN PROPOSES NEW FOREIGN POLICY TOWARDS PAKISTAN

Sen. Joe Biden has released his new policy towards Pakistan. What I like about it is that it avoids helping Pakistan militarize, and instead it concentrates on non-military aid to help the people of Pakistan in their everyday needs. It is not a Musharraf policy but a Pakistan policy. It is focused on the people, not merely on its leader.

For purposes of disclosure, I have contributed to Sen. Biden's campaign, as well as to that of Sen. Obama, Dodd and Edwards.

Sen. Biden describes the elements of his plan:

"Here are the four elements of this new strategy.

"First, triple non-security aid, to $1.5 billion annually. For at least a decade. This aid would be unconditioned: it's our pledge to the Pakistani people. Instead of funding military hardware, it would build schools, clinics, and roads.

"Second, condition security aid on performance. We should base our security aid on clear results. We're now spending well over $1 billion annually, and it's not clear we're getting our money's worth. I'd spend more if we get better returns--and less if we don't.

"Third, help Pakistan enjoy a "democracy dividend." The first year of democratic rule should bring an additional $1 billion -- above the $1.5 billion non-security aid baseline. And I would tie future non-security aid -- again, above the guaranteed baseline -- to Pakistan's progress in developing democratic institutions and meeting good-governance norms.

"Fourth, engage the Pakistani people, not just their rulers. This will involve everything from improved public diplomacy and educational exchanges to high impact projects that actually change people's lives."

What I like is the emphasis on schools, clinics and roads. Also educational exchanges and high impact projects that change people's lives.

Instead of more Bush/Cheney militarism and threats of bombs and missiles, Biden has come up with an alternative using friendship and diplomacy.

AMERICAN DIPLOMACY NEEDS TO ESCAPE NARCISSISM

I would like to point my readers to The Nation magazine for the current issue (November 19, 2007) devoted to American foreign policy, especially to the article by Anatol Lieven, "Relearning the Art of Diplomacy."

Lieven looks at American "diplomacy" and finds it sophomoric and narcissistic. As if diplomacy meant just dictating your ideas to the other side, and they better accept it or else! Lieven quotes John Edwards in his essay in the September/October Foreign Affairs.

"We must reengage with our history of courage, liberty and generosity. We must reengage with our tradition of moral leadership on issues ranging from the killings in Darfur to global poverty and climate change. We must reengage with our allies on critical security issues, including terrorism, the Middle East, and nuclear proliferation. With confidence and resolve, we must reengage with those who pose a security threat to us, from Iran to North Korea. And our government must reengage with the American people to restore our nation's reputation as a moral beacon to the world, tapping into our fundamental hope and optimism and calling on our citizens' commitment and courage to make this possible. We must lead the world by demonstrating the power of our ideals, not by stoking fear about those who do not share them."

The Lieven gives his stinging observation:

"It is only at a second reading--by someone outside the mainstream US discourse--that the intense narcissism of Edwards' intellectual approach becomes apparent. The talk is all of re-engaging with our history, our hope and optimism and our courage. Once the United States has done so, it is taken for granted that first US allies, and then the rest of the world, will once again admire America as a "moral beacon" and accept America's leadership of the world."

For purposes of full disclosure, I have contributed to the John Edwards campaign, as well as to that of Chris Dodd, Joe Biden and Barack Obama.

But I must agree with Anatol Lieven that the comments of Edwards are juvenile and egocentric, concerned with only our side. Like some eight year old arguing about which baseball team is better. Has America ever considered that there are other countries in the world who have aspirations and goals that may not coincide exactly with its own? Our diplomacy illustrates Americans' narrow-mindedness and lack of tolerance for the other. This is perfectly illustrated by George Bush who constantly is preaching to other countries on what they should or should not do. The sad conclusion is that the Democratic candidates are hardly any better when it comes to putting away American exceptionalism and engaging in true and open debate even with those countries or entities that publicly criticize the U.S., for example, Iran or even Hamas.