Obama's Foreign Trip: Yes, He Should
As to be expected the McCain camp has derisively reduced Barack Obama's overseas trip to the Middle East and Europe as a "political stunt."
Perhaps. If one were to except all other politicians being political in a political season.
But even at that, the trip is no more a political stunt than, say, John McCain in Iraq standing among 100 American soldiers and below three Black Hawk helicopters and two Apache gunships so that he could then declare that folks back home "are not getting the full picture of what is happening (in Iraq)."
Brother, you got that right.
And after the Colombian hostage rescue was it not political when Joe Lieberman announced before a blushing John McCain that their receiving of a briefing of the mission was a "sign of confidence of President Uribe and the defense minister in Senator McCain"?
But to the point, why shouldn't Barack Obama take a "political" trip overseas? According to FairVote.Org, there are anywhere between three and seven million U.S. citizens living abroad at any one time. Yeah, the vast majority of people who turn out to see Obama will be nationals of those countries. But doesn't Obama -- or any other candidate for that matter -- have the right to engage Americans wherever they may live?
And doesn't a guy who is essentially running for the office of leader of the free world have a right and responsibility to engage the world? If Obama -- as we've seen him do in black churches -- doesn't just tell the world what it wants to hear, but what it needs to know (not solely what we will do for them, but our expectations of their responsibility in our new partnership) than the trip will be well worthwhile.
The Right can't have it both ways on this one; they can't hector Obama about not traveling the world, then carp when he does. They certainly can't refer to a politician's travels as being political. That label is as obvious as it is inaccurate. What the trip is, is necessary.
We need to see Obama on the world stage before the election, the world needs to see what kind of leader America will have after the election. Should Obama take the trip?
Yes, he should.
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Neocon Thomas do not even disguise his propaganda,tell us what McCain accomplished
on his trip ?What’s good for the goose is good for the gander,get it?Sauce!
(Vey) blinded by the light, the one below him lack IQ,he agree bluntly,you two not
even are originally
is warmonger senileOtto2 ,you two realize too late what everybody knows,Obama trip
is a win,huge contrast between 2 leaders,Old ideas,New ideas.
As I understand the comments of our punditocracy, Brother Neo lacks foreign policy skills and the remedy is a one week "road trip" overseas. (It is however unclear to me which of the three anchors accompanying him are Otter, Boon, Flounder or Pinto)
Applying that sound logic to my own self-development, I shall be walking through the campuses of GWU and Georgetown today to raise my IQ.
Later I shall stroll through several houses of worship to enhance my spirtiuality. And later this week at a suitable nocturnal hour shall visit at least one of the houses closed today. (I could learn a lot at shul I suppose.)
I agree. Obama's trip is a farce, an exercise in hubris. It will make him a bigger laughingstock than he is already.
I believe you are agreeing with someone else.
The point of my post is the absurdity of the common wisdom - expressed by the so-called media.
It's the same as presuming because some guy was locked up in the Hanoi Hilton for several years that he has derived some great wisdom. Or that such an experience makes him a great leader.
My personal take is that an experience like that is as likely to leave someone emotionally scarred and unstable.
There is a direct correlation between the poverty of our thinking and the quality of our so-called "leaders".
The GOP are trying to dodge and shift their gears on Obama's trip..It's damn if you do or damn if you don't...In
I've noted this before, but it bears repeating. I believe that Obama could literally walk on water and McCain and his supporters (especially the MSM) would criticize him for getting his feet wet!!! No matter what Obama does, the McCain sideshow is going to criticize him. Obama just has to keep on doing what he has been doing since he announced his candidacy--show his intelligence, poise, articulate speaking skills and superior management skills, and he will come out the winner of the GE. Obama '08 Yes WE Can!!!
I agree.
"I believe that Obama could literally walk on water ..."
That's not water Obama's walking on.
Of course, McCain would also like us to believe that as a U.S. Senator Obama is getting his facts, ideas, policies, plans, etc. from thin air. He knows, but refuses to acknowledge, that Obama's Iraq and Afghanistan plans are based on well-vetted intelligence he receives as a U.S. Senator. Obama is undoubtedly in close contact with Pentagon, Congressional and Senate professionals who know the up-to-the-minute facts and needs on the ground. McCain is just trying to disparage the best candidate for the presidency. Not this time. Not again. Obama '08
There is no question that Ridley has more visibility as a
republican and that was an excellent career choice but
as the election draws near his people are going to
expect to see him draw some blood. It's not too late
to pull a reverse Lieberman.
Obama already has contacts in Europe, they already know
him. I won't even compare him to Bush who never traveled
anywhere except across the border and once to China, both
times for the girls. Such a comparison would be ludicrous.
Obama comes very close to being representative of the
best of America which is what the world wants so desperately
to see for a change. What recent president represented
the very best? Eisenhower comes the closest. JFK?
Reagan? Don't be stupid. Nixon? For shear brains and talent
Bill Clinton comes next and he ran into someone named Bill Clinton.
Obama's trip to the Middle East and Europe will make us ALL proud when he shows what a charismatic, kind, gentle AND INTELLIGENT leader the United States will elect President in November!
I think we've all been amazed by Obama's powerful speaking abilities - whether the venue is a political campaign, his church, a university graduation or a small meeting with average working Americans. AND don't forget the family interview with Obama, Michelle, Malia and Sasha - talk about Coolness!
God Speed Mr. Obama, and be safe. I know you will speak the truth and offer a new hope to not only my family in these trying times, but all Americans and the world. Show the Middle East and Europe that we all believe in our ability to help you bring about real change in Washington!
Yes, OBAMA would be A PRESIDENT WE CAN BE PROUD OF.
Representing a PROUD AMERICA!
Bush has crashed everything including American values and American pride.
Bush is the worse America has to offer!
Get rid of the Republican MENACE and vote for Obama, a real leader for our time.
I have to go to Colombia and Mexico...i neeeeed them latino votes
John Ridley says: "The Right can't have it both ways on this one;"
Sure they can.
So long as the media lets them get away with it.
Spend some time watching David Gregory on MSNBC. Faced with the choice of (a) repeating McCain's two-faced attack or (b) covering the Obama trip in the somewhat less sensational but more accurate context it deserves, Gregory and others at MSNBC will opt to stir up trouble every time.
It's good for ratings. Unfortunately, it sucks for journalism.
Agree with you, Jeff. And not so bright people---which is half the country---will believe the trash talk.
It's a high risk trip, but he has to make it; so better now when the election is still about 100 days away.
He can make little mistakes (like McCain on Czechsolovakia), but not "a big mistake," and we will all know what "a big mistake" is if it occurs. His best bet is to stick to his speech scripts and talking points, manage the jet lag (with which he has relatively little experience) as best he can with the help of his doctor and then cross his fingers that no overenthusiastic foreign leader does anything like "endorse" him.
Big crowds could cut both ways. They'll be a great visual, but if accompanied, as they inevitably will be, with anti-Bush and anti-US and, worst of all, anti-Israel signage, they will give McCain and the right an opening big enough to drive a Hummer through.
John, WOW very well said!!
It's crazy how McCain says Obama never met Petraeus. See Guitarsandmore's post on the subject. Well done and accurate. What is crazier is the MSM not calling his lie. Again he gets a free pass.
Also, how many times have we heard McCain say Obama has not been to Irak or Afghanistan. Now that Obama goes there, he criticizes the trip. What a hypocrite that man is. Unreal ... ewwww
I say way to go Obama for doing the right thing, at the right time.
Republicans wants it both ways when Bill Clinton was in office he was impeached for lying to congress George Bush lied to the world and has cause the death of American and Innocent Iraq civilians not to even look at the cost of this war...., If George Bush was a Democrate He would be tried for War crimes.
You are absolutely right. Obama *does* represent a very likely possibility as leader of the free world. If he was running for president of, say Kamchatka or Belize, it would not be so important for him to establish a presence outside the borders of his country.
We need the world to see him and we need to see how the world views him.
Of course he should travel overseas.
To start, Obama's worldwide trip reeks of "too little, too late." It makes him appear like he's trying to make up for lost time in a very cynical media punt.
The second problem is that when has middle America ever cared about international opinion of it. Foreigners like myself who've lived in the US and who thoughtfully criticize US policy even among those of the "left" never made it very far. There is an entrenched sense of "American exceptionalism" where whatever the US does simply goes no matter what anyone else thinks.
This is a problem for Obama. There is a streak in middle America that may simply vote against him because all those "socialists" in Europe love him.
Quite frankly, socialists abroad should realize how much Obama of a "left-wing tourist" he really is.
It doesn't matter if it IS a "political stunt", it's the perfect move by the Obama team and will probably be the icing on the cake for his election. Three reasons:
1. He'll get glowing, rock-star coverage from the Big Three American anchors who have made the trip with him, not to mention CNN, MSNBC, the Euro press and the Arab press.
2. He'll only make public appearances in front of large and adoring crowds. He'll looking like the freaking Pope on TV. Perfection.
3. He'll be able to say anything he needs to, behind closed doors, to Israel and anyone else who would question him. And anything negative they say about him will be ignored or minimized by the above press.
Any Obama supporter who thinks he shouldn't be doing this is NUTS. We'll look back at this as the knockout punch, and I'll bet McCain and the GOP know it.
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