Seeing both the responses of Obama and John McCain to the Georgia crisis reminds me of the movie "Crimson Tide," which was released in 1995. In the movie a nuclear missile carrying submarine off the coast of Russia is ordered to launch its missiles at silos that are in control of Russian nationalists. However, a second message is given to the sub, but there is there damage to the ship's equipment and it takes time for the message to be decrypted. Captain Ramsey, Gene Hackman's character, wants to launch the missiles right away before receiving the full message. Lieutenant Commander Hunter, played by Denzel Washington, takes over the sub in order to prevent Ramsey from lauching the missiles at Russia until the second message is confirmed. At the end of the movie, Hunter's response to the crisis manages to save the world from nuclear war.
      In his reponse to the Georgia crisis, John McCain responded very much like Captain Ramsey by shooting from the hip. McCain immediately blamed the Russians without noticing that it was actually the Georgians that started the conflict. John McCain's statements about Georgia resemble those on Iran in that he values conflict over compromise. Obama's opening statements on the conflict put the blame on both sides of the conflict and not just the Russians. Obama is similiar to Hunter in that he is willing to wait for all the facts to emerge before making a decision. Obama, like Hunter, realizes the severity of nuclear war and that it must be avoided at all cost. While John McCain, the real life Captain Ramsey, with his harsh rhetoric towards Moscow, is oblivious to the fact that his policies could led to a global nuclear conflict.