I’m having some trouble focusing on anything other than the turmoil in Ukraine, considering it has at least the potential to spin out of control and lead places we don’t even want to contemplate. In times like these I am grateful to have a very level-headed and studious president, because one alternative was John McCain. I haven’t forgotten what Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) said about McCain back in 2008:

“The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine,” Cochran said about McCain by phone. “He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me.”

Also, too, the idea that I might read the following in some alternative universe sends a cold chill down my spine:

Vice President Sarah Palin spoke with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk on Friday to “reaffirm the United States’ strong support for the new government and our commitment to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democratic future of Ukraine,” a statement from the vice president’s office said.

I can’t tell you how happy I am not to be living through that hell.

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Martin Longman is the web editor for the Washington Monthly. See all his writing at ProgressPond.com