Obama vs. McCain: Travel politics
Posted: Friday, July 18, 2008 9:20 AM by Domenico Montanaro
With Obama headed abroad, the New York Times writes that “Republicans seem unable to decide whether that is worthy of praise or an opportunity for payback for Mr. Obama’s unrelenting criticism of their own policy. ‘I’m pleased that he is going to Iraq for only the second time and Afghanistan for the first time,’ Mr. McCain, who last visited the region in March, told reporters aboard his campaign bus on Thursday in Kansas City, Mo. ‘If he was so concerned about Afghanistan and the threat there and the need to send troops, don’t you think he should have gone there?’”
VIDEO: A Race for the White House panel talks about John McCain camp's tactics in attacking Barack Obama's overseas trip.
But: “Earlier in the day, Mr. McCain’s communications director, Jill Hazelbaker, had dismissed Mr. Obama’s trip as the ‘first-of-its-kind campaign rally overseas.’ But Mr. McCain initially rejected that ‘damned if you do, damned it you don’t’ approach and sought a more nuanced position. ‘I can only give you my opinion, and I will talk to her,’ Mr. McCain said. ‘The fact is that I’m glad he is going to Iraq. I am glad he is going to Afghanistan. It’s long, long overdue if you want to lead this nation.’”
“Later on Thursday, in Grand Haven, Mr. McCain elaborated on his and Ms. Hazelbaker’s initial remarks. He differentiated the Iraq and Afghanistan parts of the trip from its other legs, saying Mr. Obama’s activities in the other countries could have ‘a political flavor, to say the least.’”
More on Obama’s trip… “‘The stakes are very high for Obama,’ said Lee Hamilton, president of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a supporter of the Illinois Democrat. While Obama currently leads in the polls, ‘foreign policy is one area where they (voters) have their doubts’ about him, Hamilton said. The trip is planned to put Obama into settings often occupied by presidents, including formal meetings with foreign leaders, public speeches and visits to historical sites. ‘There will be a lot of eyes on him, and we know that,’ [Obama’s Chief Strategist David] Axelrod said, when asked about the risk of politically damaging errors.”
“In a recent Washington Post-ABC poll, 72 percent of those surveyed said McCain knew enough about world affairs to serve effectively as president, compared to 54 percent for Obama.” But, “The two men were in a statistical tie when voters were asked who was more trusted to handle the situation between Israel and the Palestinians or the war in Iraq.”
“From prime ministers to college students, Europeans want to cloak Barack Obama in a warm embrace when he arrives on the continent next week. But they're also aware that anything that looks or smells like elitist Old Europe could hurt the Democratic contender with voters back home,” the AP writes. “Leaders of those capitals have expressed a willingness to adapt their schedules to see the US politician, whose sky-high approval ratings in their countries are at least as good as their own. Polls reveal that, if they could vote in the United States, between 53 percent and 72 percent of the British, French, and German public would pull the lever for Obama.”
Bloomberg News takes a look at the call from both candidates for a military surge in Afghanistan.
National Journal examines what McCain and Obama have promised to do as president and how campaign promises have shaped past administrations.
And… Many GOP groups believe oil drilling and other answers to high gas prices could be providing the party an opening to attack the Democrats. This GOP 527, which targets Dem senators both up in '08 and not up, is hitting Senate Dem leader Harry Reid on the issue. From their release: "The American Future Fund (AFF) today purchased airtime on radio stations in Nevada and the District of Columbia to run the 60-second ad ‘YouTube Sensation,’ which calls on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to explore domestic sources of energy, including allowing for offshore drilling and exploration for oil shale.”
