From January 2007 to March 2008, the McCain campaign paid Scheunemann $70,000 — pocket change compared to the $290,000 his Orion Strategies banked in those same 15 months from the Georgian regime of Mikheil Saakashvili. What were Mikheil’s marching orders to Tbilisi’s man in Washington? Get Georgia a NATO war guarantee. Get America committed to fight Russia, if necessary, on behalf of Georgia. Scheunemann came close to succeeding.

That a key McCain adviser nearly got NATO committed to a war with Russia over South Ossetia should send up alarms about a McCain presidency. Is there any war McCain would not be prepared to launch if he felt his honor were impugned or a bully was getting his way? Just because Putin is paranoid doesn’t mean McCain isn’t out to get him.