Ready Or Not
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has recently returned from a historic visit to Pyongyang, North Korea.
Israelis and Palestinians may be engaged in the first war of the 21st century.
Slobodan Milosovic has been toppled from office but remains an indicted war criminal wanted for prosecution in The Hague.
And China continues to arrest followers of Falun Gong, denying them and others basic human rights taken for granted in the U.S.
OK, so what do any of these events taking place on the world's stage have to do with the Gore-Bush race for the White House?
Answer: not much. One is tempted to say almost nothing at all, except for questions about Milosovic and the Middle East being asked during the debates last month.
None of this comes as a big surprise to those who follow foreign policy issues.
CBS News Director of Surveys Kathleen Frankovic says, "except in times of war or a big international crisis, foreign policy doesn't play a role in presidential elections."
Surveys taken during this campaign indicate only 3 percent of those asked mention foreign policy as the most important problem for the U.S. government to solve.
Sure, the candidates have their policy positions on Russia, NATO expansion, the role of U.N. peacekeeping forces and China's human rights practices. But all those undecided voters in Missouri, Michigan and Florida don't seem to care what they are.
One exception may be the current fighting between Israelis and Palestinians. Arab-Americans in Michigan, for example, unhappy with the Clinton-Gore administration's policy towards Israel, may find a reason to vote for Texas Governor George W. Bush, the Republican nominee, even if they usually vote for Democrats.
Certainly, foreign policy and national security concerns like foreign oil imports and the use of American troops abroad were raised during the three debates.
So were Milosovic and Saddam Hussein. Policy positions were spoken for the record and the candidates jousted briefly over the few differences which exist between them.
No matter.
"Very few people," says Frankovic, "cite managing foreign policy as an issue they want the government to spend money on," especially compared to social security, Medicare and education.
A CBS News/New York Times Poll conducted October 18-21 asked whether each candidate had the skills needed to negotiate with world leaders. Bush had those skills, according to 49 percent, while 70 percent said Vice President Gore had the stuff.
In the same poll voters were asked if they were confident or uneasy in a candidate's ability to deal wisely with an international crisis?
For Bush, 45 percent said they were confident; 46 percent said they were uneasy. For Vice President Gore, 57 percent responded they were confident; 37 percent said they were uneasy.
Not very surprising results, given Bush's limited foreign policy experience, especialy compared to Gore's.
The general lack of interest in foreign policy may be in keeping with the cold political truths about how American voters go about selecting their commander in chief.
However, after taking office next January, another political truth will come into play.
Simply put, the international stage will command the attention of the next president, whether foreign concerns dovetail with his governing game plan or not.
Crises do happen: Bosnia, Somalia, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. To paraphrase the opening line of the children's game, Hide and Go Seek: "ready or not, here they come!"
By CHARLES WOLFSON