Obama Shows Hawkish Side On Mideast Trip

CBSNews.com Reports: Democrat Talks Tough About Afghanistan To Show Skeptics He Can Be Strong Commander In Chief

(CBS)  This story was written by CBSNews.com political reporter Brian Montopoli.

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Not long after he touched down at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan on Saturday, Barack Obama posed for pictures with three American officials, a pair of military men in uniform, and one rather imposing statue of a bald eagle.

It was an ideal photo opportunity for a candidate looking to convince skeptics of his patriotism - just 37 percent of voters identified Obama as "very patriotic" in a recent CBS News/New York Times poll - and his toughness when it comes to foreign policy. And it was typical of the images that have come out of Obama's visit to the Middle East, a stream of television-friendly shots of the presumptive Democratic nominee chatting with troops and meeting with foreign leaders.

Obama has been careful to fortify these images with words: On Sunday, the Illinois senator urged the Bush administration to move more troops into Afghanistan as soon as possible during an appearance on "Face The Nation." He also reiterated his willingness to authorize unilateral U.S. action against terrorist targets in Pakistan's tribal areas if the Pakistani government will not act.

Obama's decision to travel to two war zones while highlighting his relatively hawkish rhetoric on Afghanistan and Pakistan reflects an attempt to deal with a problem faced by every Democratic presidential candidate since the Vietnam era: The perception that he is not as strong as his Republican rival when it comes to national security. In last week's poll, just 24 percent of respondents said it was "very likely" Obama would be an effective commander in chief. Nearly double that percentage - forty-six percent - said the same of his rival, presumptive GOP nominee John McCain.

"Democrats start with one hand tied behind their back," said Stephen Hess, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who worked for Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford and Carter. "It's a hell of a legacy that they inherited from the 1960s. This isn't something that started with Barack Obama."

It is something that Obama appeared to have one major advantage on from the outset, however, thanks to his early opposition to the Iraq War, which most Americans now view as a mistake. But while that early opposition helped drive Obama's candidacy in its infancy, it also positioned him in the public imagination as something less than a hawk. And his call for a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq has left him open to charges that he is looking to effectively "surrender," as his rival puts it. (Though Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki's recent apparent endorsement of Obama's timeframe took some of the bite out of that claim.) Republicans have also hammered Obama for not visiting the country before this trip since the start of 2006.

McCain, meanwhile, built his own candidacy on his judgment on foreign affairs - most notably, his support for the successful troop "surge" in Iraq, which Obama opposed. As Obama has worked to establish his foreign policy bona fides, McCain's campaign has repeatedly painted the relatively new-to-the-national-scene Democrat as naive and misguided in his plan for dealing with countries like Iraq and Iran.

After Obama told ABC News Monday he would still not support the surge if he had it to do again, McCain's camp suggested in an email that a "candidate who places his political ambition ahead of our national interest does not pass the threshold to be commander in chief.”

Obama's decision to spotlight his hawkish positions on Afghanistan and Pakistan, Democratic strategist Chris Lehane said, reflects an attempt to take a page from John F. Kennedy, who went on the offensive on national security by raising the so-called "missile gap" issue against Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential campaign.

"They're trying to put Republicans on the defensive on the one issue Republicans thought they could be on the offensive on," Lehane said.

Democratic consultant Bob Shrum, chief adviser to Democratic nominee John Kerry four years ago, said Obama doesn't need to win the perception battle against McCain on national security - he just needs to convince Americans he is competent to be commander in chief. Shrum also cited the Kennedy-Nixon race, noting that even though voters may have thought Nixon had more experience, Kennedy did enough to convince them he could do the job.

"Are people ever going to think that he's going to be stronger than McCain on national security? Maybe not," he said. "But he doesn't need to be seen as stronger than McCain on national security. He needs to be seen as strong enough on national security."

Obama's positions on Afghanistan and Pakistan reflect "the early Democratic argument that the administration took its eye off where the real fight was," said CBS News political consultant Joe Trippi, who worked as a senior advisor to former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.

"It is the same case that was being made by a lot of Democrats just prior to the war even starting - the old argument about why we shouldn't go into Iraq in the first place," said Trippi.

Hess argues that Obama's early opposition to the Iraq War may have given people a false sense of Obama's foreign policy leanings.

"Iraq, or the pullout, may be the exception that proves the rule," he said. "Other than that, he doesn't appear to me to be an old-fashioned Vietnam-era peacenik Democrat at all."

"To that degree, this trip he's taking, which is supposed to be for his education, may turn out to be for the education of the American voter," Hess added.

[partyguy51]

obama is just a dumb guy

[rgoodiel]

***?

[chrisl45]

Obama is the teacher saying to the world all my students did not fly into the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon! This is Obama''''s plan, legacy, and shows his charisma as well. First, all he is is a black teacher at law school. That''''s what he is using. Traditionally, when I think of a black professor, I think of someone who knows the laws dealing with "minorities" over everything else. I mean that''''s what they are best at, what they like dealing with, and what is expected of them by their students. So, here comes along Obama with that label. Minorities such as radical extreme Islamist groups can use this fatherly protection against the United States to come in and learn how to fly planes for example. Obama is keeping his fingers crossed when he talks to the heads of countries such as Palestine, Iraq, and Jordan. It might work in the short term for the terrorists. Maybe they want to see what they can get. Thus, unintentionally or intentionally Obama is telling countries such as these that maybe he wants to send American troops to Afghanistan to kill them like over 10,000 Russians were killed there. That''''s Barack Obama''''s plan, legacy, and secret. That''''s why I''''m begging you to vote for John McCain. John has the experience to get things done. God Bless Senator John McCain, our troops, and the USA

[ragnar30066]

Obama being hawkish reminds me of how Jimmy Carter was going to respond militarily like a ferocious rabbit. His words.

[abbe91]

"If you want an experienced, truly tough, capable person for President, vote for McCain.

Posted by FeeelFree4U at 03:35 AM : Jul 23, 2008"

You misspelled the name. It should be McLane, certainly not McCain.

[feeelfree4u]

Barack is quite the actor if he can talk like a hawk.
But then ,we already know the guy is pure actor.

If you want a naive, smooth, suave, articulate actor for a President, vote for Obama.

If you want an experienced, truly tough, capable person for President, vote for McCain.

When it comes down to it, the choice depends on what you think is genuinely more important: superficiality, or reality.

[d55may]

Something like 13% of us are undecided? And apparently that number''''''''s growing . . .
Posted by SamTheTVCat at 10:44 PM : Jul 22, 2008

Maybe you should come on over to the McCain side because he the one that is telling the truth.

[d55may]

Its going to be great watching him defeat himself. McCain doesn''t even have to do anything.

[d55may]

What about Obama''s health care for 12 million illegal immigrates? What about that?

[trbundro1277]

---"Edwards kinda blew it today with the mistress thingie."---
Posted by jgg000
Oooh, did that rumor turn out to be true?
Posted by SamTheTVCat at 12:08 AM : Jul 23, 2008
*** He can join the same gentlemans club as mccain!

[samthetvcat]

---"Edwards kinda blew it today with the mistress thingie."---
Posted by jgg000

Oooh, did that rumor turn out to be true?

[noturbusns]

Of course McCain got us into Iraq in the first place.

If you liked invading Iraq, you will LOVE invading Iran. McCain is your half-wit!

McCain can''t even keep surge history straight. Sunni? Shiite? Don''t ask McDimentia.

[jgg000]

Obama / Edwards 2008!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by TRBundro1277

Edwards kinda blew it today with the mistress thingie.

[trbundro1277]

Obama / Edwards 2008!

[trbundro1277]

maybe you freaks wont need handouts to survive you bunch of limp lame pseudo americans.
Posted by URSODUMB at 11:33 PM : Jul 22, 2008
*** Yeah, you do realize that Juan Amnesty Mccain voted to allow over 12 million illegals to get free hand outs right??? Juan mccain is never the answer to any problems in this country, he is the problem! If you vote for Juan Amnesty Mccain, you are voting to allow people to mooch off our system! Vote Obama!

[trbundro1277]

Something like 13% of us are undecided? And apparently that number''''s growing . . .
Posted by SamTheTVCat at 10:44 PM : Jul 22, 2008
** Yeah the number of undecided is growing because they are now finally realizing that Mccain really does want to give amnesty to over 12 million illegals, so they would rather vote 3rd party or vote democrat out of spite! We the people voted Democrat in the 2006 elections against republicans because we are sick and tired of the war, and we are tired of the thought of amnesty for over 12 million illegals! Anyone would make a better president than Juan Amnesty Mccain! Obama 2008!

[trbundro1277]

why not anyone has a shot.
Posted by ukgod1 at 11:28 PM : Jul 22, 2008
*** Mccain sold his sole to become the republican nominee for president! Half the people of his own party don''t want him. In most primaries this past spring, he only won states with about 30 percent of the republican voters! Once conservatives realize that he is a joke with Amnesty for over 12 million illegals, true conservatives will stay home from the election this November! I would never vote for Mccain! Even if my life depended on it. I would rather see Adolph Hitler become president before Juan Amnesty Mccain! Atleast Hitler didn''t lie through his teeth to his own people, he just lied to other countries! I hate mccain!

[trbundro1277]

No more phony presidents for us.
Posted by lottobee at 10:55 PM : Jul 22, 2008
** Yeah, because we will vote for Obama! We will not ever vote for Amnesty! No Amnesty! We will never vote for mexican illegal lover mccain!

[ukgod1]

his adviser said that Americans are in a "mental resection and are whiners". He admits that he doesn''''t know that much about the economy, he got the time line of the surge wrong when he was asked. His stance on "staying a 100 years if we have to in iraq" has suddenly changed and was horribly wrong to begin with which was proven in the last few days. He was part of the investigation of the keating 5 which has corruption written all over it. he admits he doesn''''t know how to do the simple task of using a computer or send an email and consistently confuse Afghanistan with Iraq and the list goes on and on and on

an this is who you want to elect president? you think this guy is competent enough to fix the economy and be commander and chief? *** if thats the case everybody should run for president i mean looking at his credentials? why not anyone has a shot.

[inowutudont]

20 minutes BEFORE building #7 at the world trade center fell, the BBC announced that bldg #7 had fallen down.

10 minutes BEFORE bldg #7 fell down, a New York Fire Captain warns his men, "Move away from #7, they gonna blow the bldg."

http://911blogger.com/node/10025 for both of the above facts RECORDED LIVE.

Don''''t just dismiss this as conspiracy *** - check this out for yourself if you want to know real truth.

Folks, we been snookered and led into war on false pretense. Witness 962 publicly repeated lies (wmd, wmd, wmd) ie the sky is falling.

All the argument for strong national security is tainted and manipulated by the military industrial machine, which must from time to time gear-up and produce weapons of war to stay profitable - thus the Vietnam war - thus the current wars - all for oil and military industrial profits.

And "We the People" are simply pawns in the scam.

If you don''''t believe it, check out the website and hear it for yourself.

Until you do - you dont know the truth.