Obama, advisers discuss foreign affairs
Posted: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 5:28 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Security
From NBC/NJ's Aswini AnburajanPORTSMOUTH, NH -- There were at least two lifetimes worth of foreign policy experience on stage with
Obama at an international affairs panel held here today.
The campaign debuted two new policies and introduced the brain trust that has helped shape Obama's views on Iran, globalization, terrorism, the military, and America's place in the world. Over the course of three hours, Dennis McDonough -- Obama's chief foreign policy adviser and a former adviser to former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle -- led a panel of Rhodes Scholars, former Clinton Administration appointees, and former military officers in a discussion of why Obama is best suited to lead the United States at a critical moment in the nation's history.
"On January 20th 2009, the world will give us one brief second look to see if they can work with us," Susan Rice a former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under President Clinton. She said that Obama would fill that role because of his international background, his pragmatism, his call for unity, and the judgment he displayed in not supporting the Iraq War.
Her points, and much of the panel's, were reiterations of the same arguments the campaign has already laid forth on why Obama is qualified to be president. However, the weight of their resumes added a layer of gravitas to the claims that Obama has arguably struggled to convince voters of by himself. Nothing underscored that point more than when Obama joined his advisers on stage. Seated in between them -- taking questions on foreign policy and deferring to his advisers on certain answers -- the scene was Roosevelt-esque.
The campaign says that the event was designed to demonstrate Obama's vision on foreign policy that "will fundamentally change course from the Bush Administration's failure to maintain our security and standing in the world."
And Obama criticized Bush and the other Republican presidential candidates more than he usually does, saying that one of them started their stump speech by saying "We'll kill them all." That mentality, Obama and his advisers argued, engendered a framework of "fear versus hope," which would be the choice in the next election. They argued that Obama, because of his background, could be the candidate that allowed hope to win out.
The three-hour event allowed little time for the invitees to ask questions, because much of the time was devoted by panel members praising Obama's record and character. But the event appeared to be attended more by supporters of the campaign, who threw some of the easiest softballs this reporter had heard in an Obama Q&A session so far.
