Obama went abroad today, arriving in Afghanistan which is the first stop on a Middle East and European tour. This marks the first time the presidential hopeful has visited the Middle East during his campaign. The objective of this trip? To shore up his foreign policy objectives.
Foreign Policy
Foreign policy is Barack Obama’s weak point. At least McCain has fought in wars, and is involved enough in the military to ‘get it’. Or at least that’s what we think according to recent polls. While Obama leads in every other area of the election, he trails McCain on questions of foreign policy. 72% of those surveyed feel “confident that McCain knows enough about world affairs to be Commander-in-Chief.” Only 54% show that kind of confidence in Obama.
Things to Look For
Make no mistake, this trip could make or break Barack Obama. You can be certain that the Republicans will be watching his every move hoping (and expecting) for a falter here or there with which to attack. Here are a few things to watch while he’s away:
*His meeting with General Paetreus: He is expected to meet with the head hauncho of operations in Iraq. This will be interesting because General Paetreus has made no bones about the fact that he thinks a 16 month pull out would be disastrous for the effort and not in the best interest of the American people. (I admit as I write that I’m not exactly sure what that means–as most of the American people favor a pull out.) How he navigates the information he receives vs. what the voters want will be very interesting. I wonder if this will be another case of “us not listening.”
*His venue in Germany: Part of the reason for his stopover in Europe is simply to get a chance to meet with allies. Earlier this month, Angela Merkel was not real pleased with the Obama camp wanting to hold a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate. This gate symbolizes a reunified Germany and frankly, him wanting to hold a speech there is the equivalent of sticking his foot in his American mouth. Merkel has diplomatically been quoted as saying, “I will welcome Senator Obama in my office in Berlin.” Will he continue to make diplomatic faux pas throughout the trip?
*His meeting with both Israel and Palestine: Yikes! This is a sticky one. He’s already stirred controversy among the Palestinians for saying that Jerusalem should remain with the Israelis. (Palestine was not happy to say the least.) Bush is trying hard to navigate a peace deal between Israel and Palestine before he leaves office. Whether he is successful or not, it is safe to say that the next President will have some diplomatic tip toeing to do around this one. He has promised to meet with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders–it’ll be interesting.
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Valorie Delp shares recipes and kitchen tips in the food blog, and also writes about politics and the occassional movie review. To read more articles by Valorie Delp, click here.