Passport to the Vice Presidency

Leave it to Jon Stewart to get to the essence of this election. On The Daily Show he poked fun at vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, who Stewart pointed out "has something more valuable than experience with foreign policy...she has Wikipedia!"

Funny, but telling. For foreign policy wonks watching the acceptance speech last week, Palin's description of the litany of overseas crises that a new administration would face seemed a tad -- well, rehearsed, as if it had been provided to her that day by campaign aides anxious to debunk the notion that she didn't have enough foreign policy experience to match that of Senator Biden.

Truth be told, she doesn't. Governor Palin has only traveled outside the United States in the past two years including a visit to Alaskan National Guardsmen in Kuwait, a brief jaunt to Germany, and a refueling stopover in Ireland. Not exactly a tour of global hotspots.

The question is: does it matter? Should the vice president (or, for that matter, the president) have traveled outside the continental US? Is foreign travel important to making foreign policy?

The answer is: yes.

We live in world that is inextricably linked. What happens in one corner of the world affects what happens in every corner of the United States.

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Economically, what transpires at an OPEC meeting affects the price we pay at the gas pump. As does what happens in Russia, Georgia or Venezuela.

Militarily, our soldiers fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, believing that our civilian leaders have the knowledge and experience to know how to conduct a war overseas. You can't be commander-in-chief if you are not in command of ground truth.

Socially, and culturally, our relations with other countries are a measure of how much we understand about each other and the degree to which we can bridge the divide between cultures, religions, and peoples. It isn't that we expect our candidates to have been exposed to all cultures and all kinds of people. But you need some; there is no substitute for the actual experience of being overseas, and every experience prepares you for the next.

To know a country and its people is to understand its geography, its culture, its politics, and its leaders. A textbook education is not enough. We put our diplomats through extensive training in language and history before sending them overseas. Why shouldn't the vice president, who might become the president, be well schooled in the world? Senators Obama, McCain and Biden have all had an array of global experiences. But Governor Palin, who needed to get a passport to travel in 2007 to take a trip, clearly has had little to no such foreign experience.

Barack Obama grew up overseas where his background and experiences prepared him to understand the world outside America. He has relatives that span countries to the North, South, East and West of America. His world view is shaped by international experiences, by years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and by countless trips to the former Soviet Union to develop policies that secure nuclear materials so they don't fall into the hands of terrorists. He has been to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Middle East. His interests take him into the deep resides of these countries, beyond the airport. Recently in Berlin, he addressed tens of thousands of people who came to listen to him as he reached across the Transatlantic divide -- to give Europeans the confidence they need to work with us as allies and partners on issues like global warming. His involvement with other nations are the reason his popularity ratings are so high around the globe.

Joe Biden has been to nearly every country in the world. As a U.S. Senator, he has met with foreign leaders, and confronted the challenges of terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and energy dependence. Just a few weeks ago, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Georgia, Biden was on-the-ground in Tbilisi, getting the facts, assessing the situation, meeting with officials and ordinary people, in order to determine the best course for American foreign policy. He wasn't going to rely on briefing books and snippets of information fed into a speech.

Knowledge is not experience. Memorizing facts or reading a teleprompter is not a substitute for reading people. No amount of debate prep will substitute for a world view based on insight and on-the-ground training. To lead is to know. To know is to be there.

Foreign travel is fair game in this election. The candidates should bring their passports to the debates.

Henri Barkey is Professor of International Relations at Lehigh University.
Tara Sonenshine is former Deputy Director of Communications of the National Security Council.

Comments

[enomaj]

I noticed that she was kinda hesitant in talking about the foreign policy issues in hher acceptance speech also. Like an amateur pianist trying to make it through the tricky part.

[DavidK08]

Isn't schooling in the way the world works the reason she isn't facing media questions now? She is in a crash course of how to seem prepared.

[ArEsDee]

I haven't seen any evidence she has a clue about what makes THIS culture tick; let alone the rest of the world...

[athenasword]

As someone who has worked and lived overseas for 11 years, I thank you. It is essential for America to stop trivializing foreign experience, understanding of other languages and customs, and international relations. In this global environment it is urgent that we have a Presidential team that gets this! We need people who can work with our allies and create strong, effective partnerships.

Obama/Biden will do us proud!

[McCainWho]

Is Palin and McCain Racists?

Exert from http://reconstitution.us/rcnew/?p=1812


"So Sambo beat the bitch!"

This is how Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin described Barack Obama's win over Hillary Clinton to political colleagues in a restaurant a few days after Obama locked up the Democratic Party presidential nomination.


I guest we can assume that Palin and McCain will not be representing all the people if they get the Oval Office. All Sambo-colored people and female Bitches may need to find another country.

Why McCain? He is responsible for vetting her and have approved all her viewpoints. He voted against Martin L. King Holiday. Finally, I believe he do not have or ever had one black friend. I did say friend " not an associate. I also believe that Mrs Palin never had a black friend either, even in college. Know I see why the Republican National Convention looked so one-colored. Maybe John McCain's slogan is really "Country Club First", no Sambos allowed.

[Noracharles1995]

Thanks for the link, I've copied and pasted and will forward to everyone I know, and I hope everyone else here does same.

[sarahownsbarry]

palin has actually worked with the canadian government to help negotiate the largest public works project in the history of north america.

but hey, barry had a lot of photo ops in europe so thats nice!!!

[necer65]

For some reason the Republicans don't seem to care that she has zero foreign policy experience. I really don't think the Republicans care that she doesn't have experience with anything...that is why they did not vet her. This scares the crap out of me....our relations with other countries needs to be mended and I don't think Palin or McCain will be able to do so.

[dadw5boys]

Republicans assume they rule the world so any knownlege past their wants and needs are useless.

Of Course that is why "ASS U ME " is spelt the way it is !!!!!!

[justjojo]

As a professor of German at a mid-sized American university, I couldn't agree with you more. I work every year with groups of bright yet hopelessly sheltered young Americans. I never cease to be amazed at how little exposure they have had to cultures outside their own. I not only teach and assist these kids in learning German, I also open their eyes to a different culture and a different way of thinking. It is amazing and rewarding to me to open these kids eyes to the world beyond their borders. They are awestruck to think that people from different cultures might actually think differently and have different and sometimes better solutions to our everyday problems in life. And Mr. McCain and his ilk are touting the resume and readiness of a woman like Sarah Palin, who has not even the slightest inkling how the rest of the world functions?
Yes, I agree that not only should our VP and our President have some savvy when it comes to foreign cultures, I believe we need to stress the importance of foreign language learning in our schools RIGHT NOW and not just the two year requirement we have for high school, we need to start making learning a foreign language a requirement from first grade on. We are woefully deficient as a nation when it comes to preparing our citizens to deal with peoples from other nations, not to mention preparing our future world leaders.

[INDmind]

I've noticed now that foreign policy experience has been changed to "world travel" since Barack does not have foreign policy credentials.

[PATina]

... but she lives so close to Russia !!!!

Seriously though, I don't think it matters to Republican voters how much 'knowledge' she has. All they seem to care to know is that she's 'tough'... and that she'll be 'tough' regardless of what part of the world she's engaging. Also... after they Repubs have been disparaging Sen O for being an 'educated' elite.... it seems to me that they don't value education in 'small town America".

[silverball]

i've heard/read? that the current occupant had never been out of the us until after elected...hmmmm...

and what is it about our election marketing that disqualifies candidates because the are too intelligent or thoughtful....since when don't we want the best...the most qualified....???

why is this even a tough choice in this election...???...now that's the frightening question.....

[pastor123]

Yes, I am so excited about the Race now that Palin is in the mix. I am a conservative leaning independant. Glad to see a conservative in the mix. Hard to find info on Palin. McCain needs to let her talk to the media so we can find out more about who she is.

Has anyone else read this story about a possible Affair Sarah Palin had? That is just one of the Scandals listed at this site. http://www.hotpres.com

This site has the inside scoop about the Palin Dui Secret, http://www.duihelpguide.com Why hasnt the news covered this?

This site has background info on sarah Palin Bio, Pics, Videos, Alot of Polls like how many people actually think that she is attractive? http://www.theveep.com

Despite all of this, and her lack of experiance she would probably make a much better president then McCain., Because like Obama she hasnt been corrupted by washington yet. We should probably reverse the ticket Palin/McCain.