First of all, here are the two latest statements by McCain and Obama on Russia's invasion of Georgia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA: The United States, Europe and all other concerned countries must stand united in condemning this aggression and seeking a peaceful resolution of the crisis. We should continue to push for a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate end to the violence.
JOHN MCCAIN: There was a president named Ronald Reagan who spoke very strongly about America's advocacy for democracy and freedom. He was criticized at that time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Now, there are two schools of thought here. First, the United States must confront Putin and make it painful for him in some way to dismantle Georgia, which he clearly wants to do. The second opinion is that America should not confront the Russians and let the world community handle the situation, however that unfolds.
There's no question that Putin believes the USA has been so depleted by Iraq and Afghanistan that there is no national will to stop the Russians from intimidating their democratic neighbors. Putin has spit in the eye of President Bush. There's no question about that.
The situation inside Georgia is brutal and chaotic, as FOX News correspondent Steve Harrigan found out firsthand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE HARRIGAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Georgian forces have begun to fire at journalists with pistols. They're obviously irregular, undisciplined, angry and humiliated. More firing. Keep going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Steve is OK, but it was close. Russia must take comfort from media like NBC News, which once again seems to be showing sympathy for the bad guy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN WILLIAMS, NBC NEWS: The United States has now decidedly chosen sides in the several-day-old war between Russia and the nation of Georgia. While the violent and messy conflict does not lend itself exactly to white hats or black hats or equal amounts of good or evil…
FRANK GAFFNEY, FORMER ASST. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: If this is what we're trying to encourage by looking the other way on the rape of Georgia, then I say forget about it. North Korea is continuing…
(CROSSTALK)
DAVID SHUSTER, "HARDBALL" GUEST HOST: If you're calling it a rape, I mean, that's a loaded word.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Rape is a loaded word. Another NBC commentator even blamed the USA for helping Georgia become democratic, calling it a provocation. With a network like NBC, Vladimir Putin has a fifth column right here in the good old USA.
But most Americans understand that Putin is a villain, a former secret police killer who's intent in imposing Russian influence on border countries. The question is which presidential candidate will most effectively deal with Putin? Yet another decision for the American voter to make.
And that's "The Memo."
Pinheads & Patriots
More and more we are finding rock groups donating to charity. That, of course is, a good thing.
Click here to watch "Pinheads & Patriots."
The latest is The Who. The group plans to give all proceeds from a concert in Michigan to a food bank. The Who are patriots.
On the pinhead front, I hate to do this but our pal Ed Asner is at it again. He's trying to get a ballot initiative here in New York to reopen the 9/11 investigation.
Asner apparently believes it was partly an inside job. That theory was thoroughly debunked by the engineers at Purdue University, of course. So Ed Asner is a pinhead.
By the way, the guy who wrote the new hit book on Obama, Jerome Corsi, is also buying the 9/11 conspiracy stuff. So he is a pinhead, too.
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