1. The US presidential election campaign has, in fact, avoided the thorny problems in the American-Russian relations. To a great extent, it was caused by advancing to the foreground far more burning problem of survival in the clutches of unexpectedly blazed global economic crisis. Even emotional cries concerning the Caucasian war, feigned by somewhat one-sided media coverage, have little resounded in the course of political debate between the contenders.
2. The history of the NATO expanding deserves closer studying in Russia, which ruling elite were completely absorbed, in that historical moment, with the search of some mystical ‘Party money’, and mass ‘Monopoly game’ to give out vouchers to millions of citizens to ostensibly testify the democratic character of the privatization followed. In the USA, meanwhile, a serious attempt was made to run national discussion aimed at stopping the hasty transformation of the NATO.
3. In any case, whoever is to move into the White House, it is of tremendous importance what political luggage the Russian leadership would bring in to reassess the lessons of the period after Cold War and to establish relations with new US Administration in the dramatic moment of the unprecedented global economic crisis. Both in the foreign and home policies (as far as the latter concerns, no Soros and Warren Buffet money combined, alas, could help to wage struggle against the corruption).