2 posts tagged “foriegn policy”

McCain campaign must be in pain from Powell’s endorsement of Obama.  At the beginning of the election process – back during the primaries one of the most serious indictments of Obama was that he was a foreign policy lightweight.  In the United States Powell is just about as foreign policy heavyweight as they come.  He has an impeccable military record and despite all of his misgivings has not been overtly disloyal to his former employer George W. Bush.

This will deprive McCain of yet another line of attack on his rival in the closing weeks before the election.  Yet McCain would be wise to ignore the news to the best of his capacity and push on an area in which he has been making significant inroads.  The part of the third presidential debate at which Obama looked most vulnerable was his connections to Ayers and to Acorn.  If McCain wants to make inroads he can’t just repeat these accusations but blend them into a narrative ark that portrays Obama as lacking in judgment both about the people he knows and the company he keeps.  Time is running short but it is not facts that convince the voters but rather the theory.

Yesterday evening saw a substantive and comprehensive debate.  The emphasis was international affairs but the beginning was abruptly changed to include some coverage of the financial crisis engulfing the country.  This was a subject that both were happy to give general and non-specific answers to – not wanting to touch such a live issue they dug deep on their respective record on retrenchments in public spending.

This debate, the subject of which was foreign affairs, was always considered McCain happy hunting ground.  And he sure commanded the territory, he barrickaded Obama with history lessons, his own longevity in public office, his military expertise, and the names of obscure dictators the world over.  As a learned professor teaching his student who has not done the set reading he explained Ronald Reagan’s response to the Soviet Union as well as critiquing the sainted President’s Lebanon policy. 

Under such a comprehensive bombardment Obama held up well.  He agreed with McCain just enough, drew clear water between their policies just enough and looked professional enough.  The foreign policy of the United States, which is so important to outsiders and even an increasing number of US after 9/11, is not going to be the basis on which this election is won.  Maybe foreign policy is a sine qua non of being a President, but it is not the ultimate test.