The conflict in the Caucasus showed once again the roughness of the world. Senator McCain used his deep experience in and knowledge of Georgia to respond adeptly to Russia's invasion, but the conflict caught President Bush and Senator Obama flat-footed.

Resident Fellow  Thomas Donnelly

As though wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, worries about nuclear North Korea and soon-to-be-nuclear Iran and the propaganda spectacle of the Beijing Olympics weren't enough, the Russian blitzkrieg into neighboring Georgia was a reminder that the world remains a rough place--and one that looks like it can only get rougher.

It was also a reminder that an American presidential election is still a contest to choose, and that international events can shine an unpredictable spotlight on our presidential candidates.

In many ways, the situation in Georgia was a grooved fastball for John McCain. Even the most experienced and diligent senators have the luxury of picking and choosing the issues they focus on, and Senator McCain has paid a lot of attention to the tiny republic in the Caucasus. He's made repeated trips to the capital, Tbilisi; he personally knows Georgia's president, Mikheil Saakashvili; and his senior foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, has been an active advocate and lobbyist for the Georgians. Senator McCain also famously quipped, after President Bush "looked into the eyes" of then Russian president and former spy Vladimir Putin and saw a soul he could trust, that he "saw three letters: a K, a G and a B."

So Senator McCain knew what he wanted to say from the moment the Russian tanks rumbled into South Ossetia. He condemned the invasion immediately and spoke more sharply as the week progressed.

"We've seen this movie before in Prague and Budapest," he said. "I'm not saying we are reigniting the Cold War, but this is an act of aggression I didn't think we'd see in the 21st century."

Meanwhile, initial response from the White House was weak and slow in coming. President Bush was in Beijing visiting with Kobe Bryant and having his photo taken with the American women's volleyball team.

The Obama camp was just as uncertain as the White House. On his way to a Hawaiian vacation when the shooting started, Barack Obama's initial statement, strongly condemning the outbreak of violence and calling on both sides to show restraint was pale in comparison to Senator McCain's immediate resolution. The campaign also sounded petty rather than presidential when Senator Obama's spokesman Hari Sevugan portrayed Senator McCain's support for the Georgians as simply the result of Mr. Scheunemann's lobbying efforts.

Senator Obama toughened his stance as the week went on, and soon his comments were indistinguishable from Senator McCain's: "Now is the time for action--not just words. It is past time for the Russian government to immediately sign and implement a cease-fire. Russia must halt its violation of Georgian airspace and withdraw its ground forces from Georgia."

But his advisers and surrogates undercut the get-tough message. Susan Rice, Mr. Scheunemann's counterpart in the Obama camp, tried to paint Senator McCain as a shoot-from-the-hip hothead. "Barack Obama, the administration and the NATO allies took a measured, reasoned approach," she told Chris Matthews on MSNBC's "Hardball." When Senator Obama's advisers cozy up to President Bush to bash Senator McCain, we're through the looking glass.

The candidates did as Rachel Kleinfeld points out, step out of the partisan direct firefight. But, like the cease-fire in Georgia, this one between the candidates can't last. For one, Senator McCain senses that these international crises work to his domestic political advantage. But there are also real differences between John McCain and Barack Obama, not just on policy, but in world view. Senator Obama, as he said in his recent Berlin address, sees a world where people are ready to "stand together." For Mr. McCain, there's no standing together with the K.G.B.

This week, John McCain's world seems more like the real one.

Thomas Donnelly is a resident fellow at AEI.