Sunday, December 24, 2006

Foreign Policy Experience Cuts Obama, Clinton and Giuliani from Presidential Hopefuls

As we titillate ourselves with the possibility of a Barack Obama presidential campaign, one lingering question will be his foreign policy experience. After almost a generation of being a secondary consideration, foreign policy has returned as a political priority. And for all of his talents, Obama seems light on the international relations scale.

It won't help Obama's case that President Bush's lack of foreign policy experience prior to assuming the office, coupled with his post-9/11 foreign policy, could keep us in Iraq another decade.

Strange as it may seem, the importance placed on Obama's foreign policy experience, or lack thereof, may depend on how the president fares in the next 24 months. In the unlikely scenario that Iraq becomes stabilized, the importance of one's foreign policy credentials may not be as important as they appear now.

If, however, things remain the same or worse in Iraq, the American people may not want to gamble again on a foreign policy novice.

If it is a matter of who has held the most impressive foreign policy positions, then we might conclude that of the prospective presidential candidates, former Speaker Newt Gingrich, Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joe Biden, D-Del., along with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson lead the list. This would not only leave out Obama, but also Sen. Hilary Clinton, D-N.Y., and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

In addition to her six years in the senate, Sen. Clinton wouldundoubtedly include her eight years in the White House as first lady. While Giuliani would obviously promote 9/11, he will likely remind voters that being mayor of New York called for him to work with the United Nations and Wall Street, as well as host foreign dignitaries. Read More

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

And also, Guliani cannot simply get by on the fac that he would make poeple feel safe. Americans proved in these past elections that the Republicans cannot use the fear of being attacked to get elected like they did in 2004.

Reuben A. Ingber said...

Somebody has mentioned that I forgot to mention my source, it was mistake on my part. Usually when an article is taken from another source I post a "Read More" link at the end which links to the complete article, I have added that link now. I once again say that I am very sorry for the confusion.