had this been a (non-russia-appeasing) repub president in office...dems would feel pressure to line up behind him and present a unified front against putins aggression. no doubt that repub president would receive a lot of support (and a bump in approval) from the general public (and the media).

but repubs go straight to attack mode (on a dem prez...not the real enemy) and the media will largely amplify/echo those attacks. and this war will be yet another polarized issue with mixed to bad public reaction/sentiment toward the presidents words/actions.

if 9/11 happened under a dem president...his party would have been destroyed in the midterms and he would have been driven from office in the next prez elections because of the worst intelligence failure in american history, every single death being pinned on him, the left turning on him for the civil liberty encroachments of the patriot act, plus going too hard (angry left) or too soft (angry right) on muslim citizens.

but you see how everything played out with a repub president.