by Timothy Wronka

Created on: June 12, 2008

Foreign policy has always been an important issue to the voters, but this year, there's a lot more at stake. America is in an unpopular war, there are nuclear threats from Iran, and there are still barrages of terrorist networks that have been deemed our enemies. This will be a defining issue in the 2008 presidential election, and at this time, the Republican candidate and the Democratic candidate differ on this issue severely.

The question though is which candidate would make the most difference? In my humble opinion, I believe that Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, is the guy for that role, and I'll explain why.

First off, I must say that I, like Obama, have a great deal of respect for John McCain. He has done a great service to our country, and I believe his form of conservatism is a view that will become the future of the Republican Party if he is successful in his presidential bid. He is not scared of social agendas and is someone who can get over with the independent voters. However, for all the work he is willing to do by "reaching across the aisle," he just doesn't seem to get it when it comes to foreign policy. More specifically, he's not too smart when it comes to the war in Iraq.

What a lot of Republicans seem to forget is the thing that drives Muslim extremists to attack Americans. This nonsense that people from the Bush administration have told us, like "They hate us for our freedom!" just isn't the case. They hate us because there is a Christian-based army from America sitting in the Middle East. These people can't stand it. This is what drives them nuts. They don't like other countries or religions meddling in their Holy Land. The fascinating fact is that Ronald Reagan, the Republican's beloved gold-standard, knew this when he withdrew troops out of Saudi Arabia to avoid any more entanglements after Jimmy Carter had all his problems in that region.

So believe what you want about John McCain's infamous "100 years in Iraq" comment, but his point there is clear: he wants America in Iraq until we have stabilized the region. However, he says this because the big issue in his campaign is national security. This is his trump card, so to speak, against Obama because he feels Obama's lack of a military record and dealing with foreign affairs will hurt him. While it's true McCain has the experience edge, that doesn't necessarily make him the better candidate.

Obama realizes, even without the "necessary" experience that America's presence in Iraq has not

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>