The conflict between Georgia and Russia continues to cause upheaval in the 2008 presidential campaign as both sides accuse the other of exploiting the fighting for political gain.

John McCain's spokesman ripped Barack Obama aide Susan Rice on Wednesday, a day after the senior foreign policy adviser accused the Republican candidate of being "belligerent" in his statement criticizing Russia's invasion of its Caucasus neighbor.

"We can not act on the basis of ideology or preconceived notions," Rice told MSNBC Tuesday night. "When this crisis began, Barack Obama, the administration indeed and all of our NATO allies took a very measured and reasoned appraoch because we were dealing with the facts as we knew them. John McCain shot from the hip, very aggressive, very belligerent statement, and he may or may not have complicated the situation."

McCain's campaign retorted that Rice's remarks betray Obama's first instinct to judge war and peace through a partisan, ideologically driven prism, much the same way he continues to oppose the surge in Iraq.

“During an international crisis when bipartisanship is needed most, it’s unfortunate to see the Obama campaign launch an inflammatory, and baseless political attack," said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds.

McCain told FOX News on Tuesday that the situation in Georgia should be treated as a bipartisan concern. On Wednesday, he added that the situation calls for a strong U.S. show of support.

"The lesson here is that we are seeing and we've seen a number of other indications of it, a reemergence of Russia as a major player particularly in the region. I don't think it means we're gonna reignite the Cold War, and I don't think that we're gonna have kind of situation but I do believe that we need to stand as courageously as we can on behalf of this little country," he said.

"I think the events of the last few days show that there are many places in the world where we don't necessarily anticipate this kind of conflicts breaking out and it does require a steady hand on the tiller and an experienced one," McCain added.

Obama, who is vacationing in Hawaii ahead of the Democratic National Convention that begins on Aug. 25, also offered support for Georgia, and said any effort to resolve the conflict should be diplomatic in nature.

"Russia must back up its commitment to stop its violence and violation of Georgia's sovereignty with actions - not just words. The United States should now join our European partners in direct, high-level diplomacy with both Georgia and Russia to seek  immediate implementation of a cease-fire, and to achieve a lasting resolution to this crisis," Obama said.

U.S. administration officials and House leaders have all expressed support for Georgia as the Russian military continues to inch toward Georgia's capital Tbilisi despite a declared cease-fire. President Bush announced Wednesday that the U.S. military was delivering humanitarian aid to the country.

But Obama's initial response earned him criticism from McCain supporters. In his first remarks about the conflict last Friday, the Illinois senator condemned the violence and urged both sides "to avoid an escalation to full scale war."

"Georgia’'s territorial integrity must be respected. All sides should enter into direct talks on behalf of stability in Georgia, and the United States, the United Nations Security Council and the international community should fully support a peaceful resolution to this crisis," Obama said.

That earned criticism by Connecticut Independent Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman, who took a shot at Obama on Tuesday night, saying the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate's initial response to the conflict exhibited inexperience when it comes to foreign policy.

At a fundraiser for McCain in Teaneck, N.J., Lieberman, who has split from his party over the 2008 presidential election, said Obama's call last Friday for both sides to "show restraint" is misguided.

"“The last few days, four or five days, we’ve seen one of the most unexpected crises in the world as the Russians moved into Georgia as aggressors. And if you read the statements from the beginning, Senator McCain and Senator Obama, one had kind of moral neutrality to it. That comes, I think, from inexperience. The other, Senator McCain, was strong and clear and principled and put America where America always wants to be," said Lieberman, who also parts from many in his party over support for the war in Iraq.“

"(McCain) is ready to be commander in chief on day one. Tested in war and peace. He has passed both tests with honor that shows not only his ability but his character," Lieberman continued.

Obama's statement was not unlike one by White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, who said on the same day: "We urge restraint on all sides — that violence would be curtailed and that direct dialogue could ensue in order to help resolve their differences."

Lieberman's criticism is noteworthy because McCain has tried to not make Georgia a political issue, telling FOX News on Tuesday that he respects Obama's views "and I believe that it's important that we act in a bipartisan fashion now. There's no room for partisanship now."

A McCain adviser indicated that the campaign did not plan to pursue Lieberman's line of argument, saying the senator was speaking for himself.

But top McCain foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann -- while expressing reluctance to criticize Obama during a discussion with reporters Tuesday -- said McCain has a greater depth of experience on the issue and Obama’'s overall record on Russia is too focused on a cooperative relationship. “

"There is a huge bottom line difference on what the nature of the U.S. relationship should be with Russia," Scheunemann said. "Senator McCain has talked about that literally for years. I think the first major speech he gave expressing concerns about Russian policies in former Warsaw Pact or former Soviet countries was in 1993. I don'’t (know) when (was) the first statement Senator Obama might have given about Russia. ...

"Second, if you look at Senator Obama’'s statements about Russia, they principally talked about the need to engage in a cooperative relationship to address proliferation threats and securing loose nuclear materials. He has talked relatively little about the issues I just spoke about. Now he has made a couple statements of support for a NATO membership action plan for Georgia and Ukraine. But again, you cant compare a 15-year historical record with three or four statements over the course of 15 months," he said.

Scheunemann represented Georgia in the United States for three and a half years

FOX News' Mosheh Oinounou contributed to this report.