Backers see McCain gain in Georgia fight

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Supporters of likely Republican U.S. presidential nominee John McCain say the conflict between Russia and Georgia is making him look better to voters.

Backers of the senator from Arizona say his stand for a tougher stance against Russia, such as his call for the country to be excluded from the Group of Eight industrialized nations, is resonating in the wake of its military campaign against Georgia, The Hill reported Monday.

McCain's campaign has sent out e-mails to reporters and political pundits noting a Sunday television appearance by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a McCain supporter, during which he said the Georgia conflict shows the need for a president with strong foreign policy skills, while likely Democratic opponent U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has little such experience.

"Anything that shifts the focus onto the theme that 'the world is a complicated place and foreign policy experience is important' has a lot more upside for McCain than for Obama," Charlie Cook, publisher of the Cook Political Report, told The Hill.

Obama, meanwhile, issued a more even-handed statement condemning the violence and his campaign noted McCain adviser Randy Scheunemann has a history of lobbying Congress on behalf of Georgia.