I don't know how many people here changed schools as a youngster, but I did it regularly. The new kid is always pushed some just to establish the pecking order. Other nations, and leaders, do the exact same thing to each new American leader that emerges when they have little history on him. Sooner or later the test comes.

With the limited amount of political history the world has on Obama, someone will step up and take a swing, of some sort, to measure his willingness to be firm. It is true that McCain might not face exactly that same testing, as most nations would expect him to act/react in the same manner as W has for the last eight years.

I am heartened to see that the Obama team has the foresight to recognize that such a thing is coming. It speaks well for our future that such thoughts and possibilities run through the minds of those responsible for framing a response.

And it is also a fact that the government runs such scenarios in "think tanks" all the time. Being mentally prepared for a wide variety of possibilities is not only prudent, but failure to consider such things is what the present administration has used as an excuse for the total lack of a plan when 9/11 happened.

I personally would rather our leaders expect trouble and be ready, than to do a double take and look shocked when TSHTF.