Starting Gate: Going Global

As Barack Obama prepares for his upcoming trips to Iraq and Afghanistan and a jaunt through the power centers of Europe, the expectations seem to be growing -- not so much for any great policy development but for the spectacle itself.

The potential benefits and risks are obvious. Obama has the chance to shore up his foreign policy credentials in a setting befitting a presidential visit. The images and opportunities for Obama to appear statesmanlike should only enhance his stature to the voters back home. Of course, the spotlight means that any missteps or flubs are likely to be greatly enhanced as well.

As carefully as the trip appears to have been planned, the chances of a major mistake should be at a minimum. But there’s something about Obama taking off a good chunk of time in the middle of a presidential campaign that points to bigger concerns for Obama. The fact that the campaign appears to feel the need to bolster his foreign policy credentials with the trip highlights just how little time has been in the arena.

In 2000, George W. Bush appeared almost uninterested in foreign affairs at times. In a famous interview in New Hampshire, Bush was asked to name the leaders of several foreign countries and was unable to. Although it was a “gotcha” question from a local journalist, the episode combined with his stated desire to stay out of the business of foreign entanglements to portray a candidate who had little experience in global affairs.

Of course, the events that have happened in the interim have made foreign policy an essential for a presidential candidate, and Obama’s is limited. That’s one reason for taking this trip before the election. As John McCain and his campaign have pointed out this week, Obama’s policy approach seems to be set already, especially when it comes to the war in Iraq. Nothing that happens on this trip seems likely to change any of that.

McCain, and Hillary Clinton before him, have argued that Obama’s inexperience raises serious questions about his ability to handle a complicated and dangerous world. The Democrat is taking precious time out of his campaign to try and inoculate himself against those concerns. And his counter-argument that the type of experience Clinton and McCain boast hasn’t been effective has so far carried the day among voters. Still, the stakes are significant for this trip if he wants to take the next step towards becoming the odds-on front-runner in this race.


Around The Track

Bill Clinton signaled that the chill of the primary season is beginning to thaw when he told reporters yesterday that he has spoken with Obama and is ready to hit the campaign trail on his behalf. “I told him that whenever he wanted me to do it, I was ready, and so it's basically on their timetable,” Clinton said. After the trouble the former president found himself in during the primary season, the bigger question might be whether the Obama campaign wants him to.

McCain is back in Michigan today to talk about the economy after raising an reported $1.4 million in a fundraiser in the state last night.

A federal judge ruled that Libertarian candidate Bob Barr should be allowed on the Ohio ballot this November after the party sued the sued the state for requirements that would have kept the former GOP congressman off, the AP reports. The ruling is under review and could be appealed but if Barr gets on the ballot in state like Ohio, it could damage McCain’s campaign by siphoning away conservatives.