The Devil Went Down to Georgia
It turns out John McCain's chief foreign-policy adviser has made a bundle representing Georgia, and this means McCain is corrupt.
As the Associated Press notes:
The payments raise ethical questions about the intersection of Randy Scheunemann's personal financial interests and his advice to the Republican presidential candidate who is seizing on Russian aggression in Georgia as a campaign issue.
I love a good scandal as much as the next person, but this really fails to raise any ethical questions. For starters, Scheunemann is hardly the first campaign adviser to have worked as a lobbyist. Some represent nonprofits, some represent industries, and, yes, some even represent foreign companies and governments. There's nothing illegal about that.
What's more, McCain's strong response to Russia's invasion of Georgia is consistent with where one would expect him to come down on the issue. As his opponents like to point out, McCain's a hawk; there's no 180-degree turn here.
So what's left? That Scheunemann represented a foreign client whose interests are shared by McCain? Gee, maybe that's why Scheunemann is (and was, well before he took on Georgia) McCain's top foreign-policy adviser—they actually agree!
If anything, this shows that one can be a lobbyist and stay true to one's beliefs. Bully for Scheunemann.
Tags: lobbying | presidential election 2008 | John McCain | foreign policy | Georgia (country)
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rtwh
56wh
Nothing Wrong
John McCain is a Georgia advocate as well. What's to be ashamed about that? Georgia, from what I've read, is moving in a direction that would allow rule by the people, by way of voting for government officials. That's a good thing.
Contrast this with Obama's lack of a network to people in that country. What can he turn to but rhetoric? "I implore both sides to show restraint". That won't cut much cheese. He doesn't have any close advisors who have a network to people in that government. All words, no traction.
I'd say rather than a scandal, this is a clear advantage for McCain to have staff that are connected to key decisionmakers to get things resolved faster and better. Obviously, his years in government has built formal and informal connections with many other countries besides Georgia. The benefits to our country having him in office to use them should be obvious to people thinking rationally.
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