by V R Rutledge

Created on: June 24, 2008   Last Updated: July 11, 2008

Foreign Policy, who is most qualified and what would be the most dramatic differences of the given choices? Do we look to a patriot and veteran who is American in the most traditional sense, or do we need someone of the World, who knows the issues and conflicts first hand? What kinds of differences would we see?

Foreign Policy would be vastly different under the mature leadership of John McCain, as opposed to the experienced leadership of Barack Obama. While John McCain has distinguished himself in this country as a leader who champions domestic issues, he has little real foreign policy experience. I can find no instance of John McCain having been involved in Foreign Policy decisions as a part of his governmental service, either as an author of legislation or as a member of committee. His closest efforts would have to be in the area of immigration reform and these have earned him opposition among the general populace. As a member of a military family, I would trust McCain on his analysis of the Iraq conflict, but his lack of Foreign Policy experience is worrisome. Military persons tend to be short on the finer aspects of diplomacy and tact. His infamous joke, that never appeared in print, concerning the Clintons during the presidency of Bill Clinton, is a case in point. Senator Thad Cochran, who has known McCain for decades and supports him as a presidential candidate, is quoted as having said, "He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me." On Iraq, McCain's goal is that by 2013 most of the servicemen and women will have returned, the Iraq War will have been won, and Iraq will be a functioning democracy, "although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension." McCain expects that by 2013, there will still be violence, but at a much-reduced level, and without American troops in a direct combat role. A military solution to a diplomatic problem. I must remark that Senator McCain has military experience, is from a military family and has worked on national security and related issues for decades. I trust his judgment concerning the war in Iraq, but not necessarily his choice of solutions.

Barack Hussein Obama II, on the other hand, was born in Hawaii of parents from two separate countries and cultures. His parents divorced when he was two and he subsequently moved to Jakarta, Indonesia where he attended school until he was ten years old. Returning to the US, Barack attended school

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