Washington Post:

posted at 2:35 PM ET, 08/27/2008
Russia Makes Trouble for the Democrats' Narrative

I wouldn't say that the words "Ossetia" and "Abkhazia" are on every delegate's lips out here, but Russia's aggression has spotlighted some interesting divisions within the Democratic Party -- and even the Obama team itself -- on foreign policy.

Barack Obama issued a very tough statement yesterday, after Russia recognized as independent countries two provinces of Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. He said "the U.S. should lead within the UN and other international forums... to further isolate Russia internationally because of its actions." Around the same time, as Bloomberg reported, two of Obama's senior advisers, former defense secretary Bill Perry and former Navy secretary Richard Danzig, were counseling against isolation and for engagement. I haven't seen any surveys on this, but it's clear that a lot of Democrats here feel more comfortable with the softer view.

Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio told a group of us Post reporters and editors that "if Russians were to try to do, over in our sphere of influence, what we've been doing in theirs, the reaction would be rather severe." The governor emphasized that he wasn't speaking for Obama, but when I expressed surprise -- and wondered how Polish-Americans and Ukrainian-Americans in Ohio would react to his apparent inclusion of independent nations into a Russian "sphere of influence" -- he didn't back off. "It seems to me we have taken action that was almost designed to be provocative, and that just doesn't seem wise to me."

The problem for Obama is that this crisis, and his response to it, doesn't comport with the narrative many Democrats here treasure, which could be summed up as: McCain is a warmonger like Bush, Obama will bring back diplomacy, and America, by invading Iraq and condoning torture, has forfeited any right to complain about Russia.

Listen to Joe Biden tonight, and Obama tomorrow, as they seek to weave their uncompromising response to Russia and their critique of Bush-McCain overall belligerence into a narrative that comforts the faithful and makes sense to the country.