Where Do Obama And Clinton Stand On China? [View All]

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-weigant/where-do-obama-and-clinto_b_93610.html

Posted March 26, 2008 | 06:50 PM (EST)

I sometimes wonder if the "reporters" covering the presidential candidates out on the campaign trail ever bother to read the front page of the newspapers, or whether they just flip to the campaign he-said/she-said stories about whatever trivial issue is being exploited in the press that day. Because time and time again during this campaign, large and substantive issues have reared their heads in American foreign and domestic policy (and politics), only to be completely and utterly ignored by these "reporters" -- who are being paid handsome sums of money to ask the candidates about such issues.

Take China, for instance. And Tibet. And Taiwan. And the Olympics. And Darfur. And lead in toys. And poison cat food. And human rights. And censorship of the media. And the American public debt being financed by the Chinese. And the dollar and the yuan.

Anybody know what Hillary Clinton feels on this complicated issue? Or Obama? Anyone?

It's not as if there haven't been stories about China in the news in the past year, while the campaign has been happening. So why don't we know what the candidates think, and (more importantly) what they'd do about the various aspects of the situation?

Because in the near future -- perhaps during the next president's tenure in office -- China will eclipse the Middle East and terrorism to be our number one foreign policy challenge. So it would be nice to hear if either Hillary or Barack has some sort of plan. Or even some random thoughts on the issue. Foreign policy isn't just the Middle East. It's supposed to be a rational way for America to interact with the rest of the world.

For those of you too young to remember, America's foreign policy when I grew up during the Cold War -- say between World War II and the dissolution of the Soviet Union -- was simple enough to be contained on a telegram:

"Communism is wrong and bad. Capitalism is good and right."

FULL story at link.