Rivals jab over tone on Georgia

McCain's remarks called 'belligerent'

John McCain, with wife Cindy in New Jersey yesterday, has taken a harder line on Moscow than the Bush administration. An Obama aide suggested that may have ''complicated the situation.'' (Mary Altaffer/ Associated Press)

John McCain's strong statements on the Russian military assault on Georgia prompted fresh skirmishes on the presidential campaign trail yesterday.

The presumptive Republican nominee has taken a harder line on Moscow than the Bush administration, accusing Russia of wanting to strangle a new democracy and declaring, "We are all Georgians now."

Democratic rival Barack Obama has generally taken a less confrontational approach, and his chief foreign policy adviser suggested that McCain might have made the situation on the ground worse.

"John McCain shot from the hip, [a] very aggressive, belligerent statement," Obama adviser Susan Rice said Tuesday night on MSNBC. "He may or may not have complicated the situation."

Tucker Bounds, a McCain spokesman, responded yesterday. "During an international crisis when bipartisanship is needed most, it's disappointing that the Obama campaign has chosen to launch inflammatory and baseless political attacks," he said.

Both McCain and Obama welcomed President Bush's announcement yesterday of humanitarian assistance to Georgia.

"The situation is still unstable, and Russia must back up its commitment to stop its violence and violation of Georgia's sovereignty with actions - not just words," Obama said in a statement. "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."

McCain said yesterday that Russia's actions should mean reconsideration of its membership in international groups such as the G-8 and its application to the World Trade Organization.

McCain also called for at least talking about an international peacekeeping force, and asked NATO to renew discussions about possible membership for Georgia and Ukraine, another former Soviet republic. "After the events of the past six days, no one should wonder why countries on Russia's periphery so ardently seek the security guarantees that alliance membership represents," he said.

Georgia's president, Mikhail Saakashvili, has urged the United States to put actions behind words of support, and said yesterday he is appreciative of the concern of both McCain and Obama.

"Well, I've been talking to Senator McCain several times a day, and he has been very reassuring," Saakashvili said on CNN. "He has been really helpful in raising our morale. You know, I think he spends less time on his presidential campaign these days and lots of time on Georgia. And I really appreciate that, because Senator McCain has been fighting for freedom of Georgia for many, many years. He understands every issue involved here. He understands what we are punished for. And the same for Senator Obama."

But others are questioning McCain's chief foreign policy adviser's lobbying activities on Georgia's behalf. Randy Scheunemann and his business partner lobbied the senator or his staff on 49 occasions in a 3 1/2-year span while being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the Georgian government. Scheunemann's firm lobbied McCain's office on four bills and resolutions regarding Georgia, and McCain was a cosponsor or supporter of all of them.

On April 17, a month-and-a-half after Scheunemann stopped working for Georgia, his partner signed a $200,000 agreement with the Georgian government. The deal added to an arrangement that brought in more than $800,000 to the two-man firm from 2004 to mid-2007. For the duration of the campaign, Scheunemann is taking a leave of absence from the firm.

"Scheunemann's work as a lobbyist poses valid questions about McCain's judgment in choosing someone who - and whose firm - are paid to promote the interests of other nations," said New York University law professor Stephen Gillers. "So one must ask whether McCain is getting disinterested advice, at least when the issues concern those nations."

Campaign spokesman Brian Rogers responded that McCain has been to Georgia three times since 1997 and "this is an issue that he has been involved with for well over a decade."

McCain spokeswoman Nicolle Wallace added that the senator has full confidence in Scheunemann. "We're proud of anyone who has worked on the side of angels in fledgling democracies," she said in an interview.