My favorite game that i rarely get to play - it's hard to get 3 hrs for just a two player game. I so look forward to the iOS version of it that will eventually come out.
I find that Space Race is essential. You dump the best of your opponent's cards from your hand into it every turn so that it will not affect the rest of the board.
I find that the early part of the game favors the USSR, and if the USA player can survive, he can come back to win by the end of the game. But it's easy for the USA player to get caught up in his own agenda early and then have the early war scoring heavily against him.
Lots of things to balance out in playing the game - how can I minimize the effect of cards that I play that will help my opponent, should I use a card for influence or for the event, should I try to coup or realign or spend influence, where should i spend military operations so my opponent can't do so, how to minimize the scoring for my opponent when I have to play a scoring card that benefits him more than me, etc.
Here's a great teaching summary for the game. I think reading this gets you a good feel for how the game plays.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/filepag...e-from-the-how