Susan Rice is one of Barack Obama’s top national security advisers. She might also be Karl Rove’s implant in the Obama campaign. Every time she ‘defends’ Sen. Obama’s foreign policy record, she causes more harm than good. Every time she critiques Sen. McCain’s foreign policy acumen, she highlights McCain’s expertise. Such is the case here:

Coinciding with a new poll suggesting McCain has overhauled Obama among voters nationally, Obama’s senior foreign policy adviser Susan Rice portrayed the Republican as a hot-head who could not be trusted to stay cool under fire.

McCain’s “tendency is to shoot first and to ask questions later,” she said on a conference call alongside former White House anti-terrorism adviser Richard Clarke, who called the Republican “trigger-happy” and “reckless.”

McCain, according to Rice, “cheer-led (President George W.) Bush’s decision to take our eye off the ball and start a war in Iraq that had nothing to do with 9/11.”

“This is a record that belies anything approaching sound judgment,” she said.

Ms. Rice obviously wants us to ignore that Sen. McCain was right in his first statement about Putin’s invasion of Georgia. Ms. Rice also wants us to ignore Sen. McCain’s being right about the surge.

As for the “shoot first and to ask questions later” part, Sen. McCain called Georgian President Saakashvili hours after the initial invasion to get the scoop on what was happening in Georgia. Meanwhile, Sen. Obama issued a statement calling for restraint from both sides after Russia invaded. Then he left for a week of frolicking on the Hawaiian beaches. It wasn’t until late the next day that Sen. Obama’s advisers, presumably Dr. Rice among them, that told him that his position was politically untenable.

Based on Dr. Rice’s statements, statements about foreign policy crises are only measured by whether it puts the candidate in a politically untenable position, not whether it’s actually right. That sounds eerily similar to President Clinton’s foreign policy.

That type of thinking doesn’t put Sen. Obama in a flattering light. It makes him look untested.

That’s why I’m wondering if Dr. Rice isn’t Mr. Rove’s gift to Sen. Obama.

Technorati Tags: Susan Rice, Barack Obama, Richard Clarke, Foreign Policy, National Security, Russia, Georgia, Surge, John McCain, Karl rove, Election 2008

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog