http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/07/obama_not_afraid_to_engage_gop.phpObama Not Afraid To Engage GOP On Foreign Policy
By Greg Sargent - July 21, 2008, 6:00PM
The Washington Post's Dan Balz gets at a point I've been hitting here pretty regularly: That one of the keys to Obama's success is that
he's projecting a degree of confidence on foreign policy that has long eluded some Dems... What is striking is how Obama's campaign differs from past Democratic campaigns. In earlier years, Democratic candidates couldn't wait to move off of foreign policy and onto domestic issues, aware that their party more or less owned the domestic debate, while Republicans generally held the high ground on national security. The more time they could spend focusing the contest on domestic issues, the better their chances of winning.
That was true certainly for John F. Kerry against President Bush four years ago, and it's clear that the polls currently show that national security issues are McCain's one key area of strength against Obama. Obama's advisers believe the economy will dominate the fall campaign, but the candidate shows no indication that he will try to avoid engagement with McCain over foreign policy.
Obama has, with the exception of FISA, largely held to a tenet that has defined his campaign since the beginning: That through persuasion he can win arguments with the GOP on national security; that this turf needn't be ceded to the GOP.
When McCain was attacking Obama's Iraq plan, he gave a big speech doubling down on withdrawal. And on this trip, Obama has managed the neat trick of projecting a sense that he's setting the agenda here, even though it came after weeks of McCain attacks on him for not visiting Iraq (public statements from al-Maliki and an Iraqi government spokesperson supporting Obama's withdrawal time-line didn't hurt in this regard). That's partly what made the trip abroad such a high-stakes gamble, and thus far, it's clearly paying off.
It's worth repeating that the key is not simply that Obama believes that he can win disputes on national security. It's that he keeps saying so.
This projects confidence and leadership, and prevents the McCain campaign from being perceived as being on offense in an area where polls show McCain still holds an advantage.Indeed, asked by CBS on Sunday whether he ever lacked confidence that he could prevail in the foreign policy arena, he offered a one-word answer: "Never." Just in case you were wondering.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
