When Pat Buchanan sounds more and more like a Democrat, it shows just how far to the fringe right the Bush Administration has taken this country during the last eight years.

Be thankful to "Old Europe," Buchanan wrote yesterday for not rushing to include Poland, Ukraine, and Georgia in the NATO club, something Bush and company have been pushing for since taking office. If Georgia were already a member, NATO would be in a nuclear face-off with Russia right now.

The NATO alliance is based on a solemn commitment to militarily come to the defense of each member. An attack on one is an attack on all.

Does anyone seriously believe we should inject ourselves into a war with a country that has slightly fewer nuclear warheads than the US, Buchanan asks.

Many US presidents, including Ronald "Tear down this wall" Reagan, were smart enough to avoid a serious conflict with Russia over much bigger issues than the problem in Georgia.

But the events in Georgia have raised the question of which of the two presidential candidates is better suited to deal with Russia.

Polls are showing that Senator John McCain, a war hero, is overwhelmingly the favored choice. McCain has all but convinced voters that America has won the war in Iraq. And he has a lot of tough talk for Russia.

But what if the better choice is the president who would not project the country into another reckless war? Senator Obama's anti-war position on Iraq is not as top of mind as it was during the primary. But he seems to know the difference between wars of choice and threats to the mainland.

The difference between the wrong decision on Iraq and a wrong decision with Russia could be nuclear winter.