Nuclear Politics Go Ballistic

President Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev signed a new and historic strategic arms reduction treaty in Prague yesterday, which seeks to begin a process toward the gradual elimination of nuclear weapons. The treaty calls for the reduction of 1,500 developed weapons, 700 deployed missiles and 800 deployed and non-deployed launchers. Furthermore, Obama has said that he is resolving not to threaten non-nuclear nations with atomic weapons as long as they have been proven to comply with international agreements involving nuclear weapons, so excluding Iran, even as he and other world leaders are trying to get Iran to stop developing a nuclear bomb.

So who on earth could be against this reasonable, balanced policy?

Oh, right. . . .

Well, the Queen of the Last Frontier came out against Obama's refusal to threaten non-nuclear states with the bomb, comparing it to letting a schoolyard bully hit you in the face without retaliating. But then she knows a thing or two about going after defenseless creatures.

It's not just Alaska's half-term governor emeritus who opposes Obama's nuclear policy, and they're not just against Obama's refusal to threaten non-nuclear countries with our arsenal. They're against the treaty itself. Many Republicans have charged that a large nuclear stockpile is not only necessary but desirable, as it's there to show other countries to think twice about messing with us. One conservative blog even compared it to male sexual prowess. "You see," an anonymous blogger wrote at AlterNet.com, "a nuclear weapon is like a large erection. George W. Bush’s foreign policy was like a large erection. Ally and adversary alike were cowed and impressed by these large erections. Obama is taking the blood out of our impressive foreign policy and system of deterrence. When it comes time to criticize a Democratic President’s foreign policy, the first thing is to accuse him of having a limp d**k."

This is the kind of stupidity that no amount of education reform can eradicate.

Commentary from these bullying high school dropouts notwithstanding, the treaty is expected to be ratified by the Senate despite a two-thirds majority required by the Constitution. Only eight Republicans are needed to join the Democratic caucus, and Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), a leading figure on the issue of nuclear proliferation, is expected to use his influence to find enough support on his side of the aisle.

Republicans such as Olympia Snowe of Maine should support this treaty, and even Scott Brown of Massachusetts is a possibility for a "yes" vote. Don't expect John McCain of Arizona to be any help - despite his support for arms control in the past, he's facing a tough re-election campaign in his state's Republican Senate primary and may want to avoid offending the right-wing rank and file who likely oppose this treaty without having even read it.

And if McCain's old running mate should ever be President, maybe we won't have to worry about a nuclear war. Hey, she should get along with Medvedev easily - after all, their practically neighbors! ;-)