With Obama there is a sense of an unscripted candidate who will go beyond 'focus group' think. Yes, this has led to some errors in judgment. For instance, the notion of attacking Pakistan without coordinating with whatever Government is in power there is reckless...Meantime, while Obama is right we should be prepared to dialogue directly with our enemies at the highest levels, he might have answered the question with at least a gating caveat or two.Despite the occasional blunder I have been quite impressed with Sen. Obama's foreign policy learning curve. (Come on, Gov. George W. Bush was, at best, a "D" student on such matters while he ran for president in 1999 and 2000 and look where it's gotten us!) That he has solicited advice from such heavy weights as Anthony Lake and Colin Powell (yeah, yeah...I know) speaks volumes for his hunger to learn and get it right.
...Still, given the moral calamities of legalized torture, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and so much more, having a man whose last name rhymes with our collective, demonic arch-villain, and a middle name the same as the surname of the Saddamite monster dethroned--not to mention the paradigm-shifting nature of having a first African-American President--all of this would certainly force the world to stand up and take notice that a significant change had taken place, and that a dramatic course correction was imminent. That said, pragmatism cautions not dismissing Hillary, whose foreign policy views are, as I indicated above, at least far superior to the craven militarism on tap by all the leading Republican candidates, and who’ll have a deep bench of foreign policy advisors on her team. Nonetheless, there is a sense of hope and possibility and freshness with Obama, and above all authenticity, that has me rooting for him somehow...
Hillary on the other hand is, herself and on her own, a heavy weight. What she'd bring to the presidency can't be matched by many others (Democrat and Republican) in the current field. She wouldn't be the breath of fresh air that Obama would be (she'd be a breath of cleaner air, though). But the musings by some on the far left that, as president, Hillary would be "neo-con lite" are a bit out of touch.
Who to support? I can't answer that right now. But with the Labor Day weekend now behind us and the first nominating contests set to take place within three months, I will be paying much closer attention to what the Democratic candidates have to say regarding foreign policy.
