Daniel Hamilton: Mikheil Saakashvili’s path to peace in Georgia

Against the backdrop of the furore over the bailout of the Irish economy and rapid slide into the forced jollities of the festive season, one could have been forgiven for overlooking an important announcement last week by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili which will have considerable implications for European security in the coming years.

Addressing a session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg little more than two years after Kremlin-inspired aggression sparked a ten day conflict in which scores died and the country’s entire infrastructure was shattered, the President outlined a strategy for reunifying Georgia by non-military means.

In the midst of thousands of Russian troops continuing to occupy the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and therefore much of the historic Black Sea coastline, Saakashvili told MEPs that Georgia will “never use force” to restore its territorial integrity and sovereignty and that it will “only resort to peaceful means in its quest for de-occupation and reunification”.

Regardless of one’s view of the European Union, the thought of a Georgian leader addressing the European Parliament would have been utterly unthinkable prior to the peaceful ‘Rose Revolution’ in November 2003 which saw the corrupt, pro-Moscow leader Eduard Shevardnadze swept from office. 

The differences between the Georgia of 2003 and the Georgia of 2010 could not be starker. 

Daniel Hamilton: America's Senate Races 2008

Daniel Hamilton is a Runnymede Borough Councillor and a regular contributor to CentreRight.com

Too close to call

GEORGIA - Senator Saxby Chambliss over Former State Representative Jim Martin

It is a mark of how dire the situation is for the Republicans that they need even consider dedicating scarce financial resources to a race that until only a couple of weeks ago wasn’t on even the most hopeful of Democrats’ radars.  A poll released in late September showing first-term Senator Saxby Chambliss leading former State Representative Jim Martin by only 2% was the first indication that the Republicans may be in trouble in a state George W. Bush carried by seventeen points in 2004.  The poll was widely ignored by political establishment and dismissed as an outlier - until Survey USA and Research 2000 published similar polls showing statistically insignificant Chambliss leads of 2% and 1%.  A poll conducted on 10th October found Chambliss and Martin statistically tied at 45% each.

Despite being more than a little rough around the edges, the plain-talking Chambliss is an effective legislator, taking the chair of the influential agriculture committee during his first term in office.  Martin remains relatively unknown but benefits from higher than usual name ID having lost a state-wide race for Lieutenant Governor two years ago.

The incumbent remains somewhat of a hate figure amongst Democrats for the vile campaign he ran in 2002 where he aired ads questioning his opponent, Vietnam triple-amputee Senator Max Cleland‘s dedication to country, displaying pictures of him alongside Osama Bin Laden.  As the heat in this race continues to rise, look for the Democrats to roll out the big guns on Martin’s behalf.

Daniel Hamilton: Your guide to this year's US Senate races

Daniel Hamilton is a member of the Conservative Way Forward Executive Committee.  In this pdf
Dan provides thumbnail profiles of all 33 Senate races.   Pasted below are three of those profiles.

STEM CELL RESEARCH DOMINATES FINAL DAYS OF MISSOURI CLIFFHANGER

• Incumbent – Senator Jim Talent (R)
• Challenger – State Auditor Claire McCaskill (D)

A former member of the House of Representatives, Talent was first elected to the Senate in 2002 defeating Jean Caranhan, the wife of the man who was posthumously elected in 2000 following his death in a plane crash.  Talent's opponent, Claire McCaskill currently serves as Missouri's State Auditor.  Possessing a deeply-unpleasant, cutting voice, McCaskill proved her strong appeal amongst party activists by defeating the state’s sitting Governor Bob Holden in the Democratic primary in 2002.  She went on to be narrowly defeated by Republican Matt Blunt at the General Election.

This race has been defined by one issue: stem cell research. Talent has consistently been outspoken in his opposition to the research, serving as an original sponsor of Senator Sam Brownback’s efforts to ban all forms of human cloning.  In the past few days, McCaskill has aired an outstandingly-effective commercial fronted by Parkinson's suffered Michael J. Fox calling for electors to vote Talent out of office for attempting to “criminalise the science that gives [him] hope”. 

McCaskill is most certainly serious about winning this race, mortgaging her home for $500,000 several days ago in order to boost her campaign’s finances. In the past three polls, Talent has clung to a narrow lead of 2%, just inside the margin of error.  Whilst he still has a slight edge over McCaskill, who failed to her race for Governor despite leading in pre-election polls, this election is simply too close to call.