Left I on the News

Because how else could he say this?

"For anyone who thought that stark international aggression was a thing of the past, the last week must have come as a startling wake-up call."

Or was that really a trick statement, with McCain actually realizing that no one who has actually been awake for the past seven years could have possibly thought that "stark international aggression was a thing of the past"?

Of course, I'm kidding. This is just McCain joining a long list of American politicians and pundits whose embrace of "American exceptionalism" is so thorough that they literally don't realize the disjoint between their words and deeds.

And, just so we get this on the record, I remind everyone that the "stark international aggression" was initiated by the Georgians. Although it is also unquestionable that that's not who he was referring to. Note the intentional deception in the sentence which follows the one above:

"After clashes in the Georgian region of South Ossetia, Russia invaded its neighbor, launching attacks that threaten its very existence."

No, events didn't start after "clashes," which implies some sort of equal responsibility on both sides. They started after a deliberate attack on Russian peacekeeping forces by the Georgian military. Not "clashes."