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There is a good reason the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has not rushed to defend Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who is essentially under 24-hour siege by angry protestors. As the opposition demonstrations continue in Tbilisi, with thousands of Georgians expressing their rage against the authoritarian regime, the mood in Washington has shifted.
No longer the poster boy for democracy, Saakashvili is now seen as an irresponsible enfant terrible whose political capital has been squandered by foolish mistakes and a stubborn refusal to deal with Russia.
One of Obama's first priorities will be to repair the damage to U.S.-Russian relations. He is a healer by nature, not a divider. Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton clearly see Saakashvili as a liability and an unsavory leftover from the past. Saakashvili should resign from power and return the government back to the Georgian people.
Saakashvili's list of failures can no longer be denied in Washington: suppressing the media, violating human rights, threatening the free flow of oil through the Baku pipeline and the reckless war he started in August.
Even those who were once charmed by the English-speaking lawyer are expressing their disappointment. He has simply lost credibility around the world. In addition, U.S. taxpayers, burdened by the economic crisis, have little desire to continue funding military and "democracy-building" projects in Georgia.
The real question that remains is who is powerful enough to succeed Saakashvili once the Obama administration decides to cut off his life-support system? The opposition has many well-educated, English-speaking politicians who are committed to restoring order and stability to the country.
Heroes are born when ordinary people are put into extraordinary circumstances. It is a daunting task for any leader who will have the job of restoring Georgia's image around the world. The new president must be a peacemaker like Obama. Leaders like Saakashvili are simply anachronisms in our modern, civilized political culture of the free exchange of ideas. The Obama administration should not tolerate his bullying ways.
Saakashvili, who was once the West's darling of the Rose Revolution, has now become a nuisance -- literally, a thorn in Obama's side.
Tsotne Bakuria, a former member of Georgia's parliament, lives in Alexandria, Virginia.
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