by Frank James
According to a McClatchy report, Sen. Barack Obama's campaign is considering an international trip that would allow the senator to showcase his great popularity abroad.
The article even suggests that the campaign would work in a visit to Iraq in order to take some of the sting out of Republican attacks over his one and only visit to that country in 2006.
Here's a snippet from McClatchy's story.
WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama may depart this summer from his road-warrior tour of election-battleground states to take a trip around the world, one intended to shore up his credentials on foreign policy.
With a foreign trip under discussion in the Obama camp, any itinerary almost certainly would include a stop in Iraq. That would be his first trip to the war zone since early 2006. It would be designed to answer Republican presidential candidate John McCain's criticism that antiwar Obama can't talk credibly about withdrawing U.S. forces since he hasn't been on the ground there since the 2007 troop buildup brought some military success.
While he's at it, Obama may extend his journey to other parts of the globe, especially Western Europe, where his racial mix, youth, optimism and themes of anti-Bush, multilateral diplomacy have generated impassioned interest in his candidacy.
Obama advisers are eager to find a way to harness his popularity overseas to boost his appeal to undecided voters back home, and to show that the 46-year-old freshman senator from Illinois can compete with McCain on foreign policy. While the Arizona senator is a veteran of war and Washington -- and 25 years Obama's senior -- his support for the Iraq war puts him on the losing side of public opinion.
The benefit of a foreign trip to several countries, including Iraq, would be that it would allow the Obama campaign to get the candidate to Iraq without looking as though the campaign was goaded into it by Sen. John McCain and other Republicans.
That likely won't stop the McCain campaign and Republicans generally from bashing Obama for taking many fewer trips to Iraq than McCain. But it would help to somewhat defuse the issue.
The Obama campaign also has to consider just how much such a trip will ultimately help. Seeing Obama standing next to other world leaders would certainly allow him to look more presidential.
As the McClatchy story suggests, Images of Obama before huge, adoring European crowds would also send a signal to many Americans that Obama could help restore the fondness many around the world felt for the U.S. before the Bush Administration and the Iraq War.
But would such images really help Obama with the voters he most needs to woo, working-class whites, older women, Jewish Americans, Hispanics? That's a big open question.
There might be an anti-Obama backlash too among some U.S. voters if they felt that through such a trip he was taking them for granted.
With less than five months to go before the U.S. election, and with domestic issues expected to dominate, it could be strongly argued that the Obama campaign needs to spend every waking moment covering U.S. swing states, getting its vice presidential pick right, and looking and honing its voter-registration and get out the vote efforts.
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Comments
Yes, I really hope he does go overseas this summer. I think he will be greeted VERY warmly!
Posted by: Virginia K. Orlina | June 14, 2008 1:14 PM
Yes, I really hope he does go overseas this summer. I think he will be greeted VERY warmly!
Posted by: Virginia K Orlina | June 14, 2008 1:16 PM
Taking a world tour only makes him a tourist, not knowledgeable in foreign affairs sufficient unto the presidency. His advisors should be embarrassed to have suggested this. It's only more of Obama's expedient politics
Posted by: Nina | June 14, 2008 1:24 PM
I'm sorry, but my gut feeling tells me that an overseas trip "to showcase his great popularity abroad" would be a terrible mistake.
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In the first place, "popularity abroad" has never invariably translated into favorable foreign policy relations. JFK was "popular" abroad, but I still had to participate in drills during his presidency, where we huddled under our desks and practiced kissing our ****s goodbye in the event of a nuclear attack. His popularity didn't put a single dent in the cold war.
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In the second place, appealing to the world - as opposed to the citizens of this country - is bound to provoke strong feelings resentment among those who are sure certain political parties are more interested in helping everyone except American citizens. As such, displaying his "foreign" popularity is bound to polarize the public against him to some degree.
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In the third place, running around outside the U.S. would simply give McCain an advantage in both access to voters and reasons to suggest Obama's unfitness for office. After all, does anyone seriously believe McCain won't spin an "Obama World Tour" in the manner I just suggested?
Posted by: John W. | June 14, 2008 2:55 PM
Frequent Flyer miles does not give one foriegn policy experience. He is in over his head. Why doesn't he start his "dialogue tour" with Chavez, Castro, the nut in Iran, and the loon in N. Korea.
Can we make his travels on a one-way ticket?
Posted by: Terry | June 14, 2008 4:39 PM
Terry,
Get out your fork for a great big heapin' plate of crow.
Dubya is belatedly engaged in diplomacy with Iran, Syria, and North Korea. Yeah I know, it's all Jimmy Carter's fault. Since you're looking to pick up Hillary supporters - you can't go after Bill.
Posted by: Doug "Hussein" Zook | June 14, 2008 6:28 PM
This is a brilliant idea. It will show that Barack is very serious about becoming more fully informed concerning foreign affairs, and it will give him a way to get positive headlines on a regular basis instead of dragging out campaigning all summer and boring us to death with 10 town meetings between Obama and McCain on the campaign trail as McCain has called for. People are fatigued with the intense and lengthy Democratic primary. Barack can come back in plenty of time for the August democratic convention then campaign his heart out from right after Labor Day to the November presidential election. I read that he is holding back about getting too specific too early in his speeches (as opposed to his Website, which has tons of specifics) until closer to election time when most people first really start to pay attention. Endless repetition and town meetings all summer would bore the political junkies (which i have become) and the majority of voters would just not be tuned in while they enjoy the summer -- even if their vacation is just at the local swimming hole.
Posted by: Christie | June 14, 2008 7:26 PM
An Obama presidency would being very welcome abroad by every account I have heard. I think Barack getting elected will do more to repair America's damaged reputation than anything else.
Posted by: Logic Prisoner | June 14, 2008 10:24 PM
Obama needs to attend to the needs of the American people . The world can wait until he is in office and then send his cabinet members overseas. The biggest mistake our presidents have made since the 20th century is spending to much time overseas and not enough for the homeless, the hungry, the widows, the abused children, etc. Besides why should his supporters bank roll his trips around the world when they are barely making ends meet. Obama with all of your intelligence use some mere common sense and clean your own backyard first and foremost.
Posted by: valjean | June 14, 2008 10:40 PM
I saw Christie's "this is a brilliant idea" post on another web site earlier today, hours earlier.
Hmmm -- do they pay by the post? I specifically remember the part about the details and how no one will remember them before labor Day, anyway.
I guess Barack's ideas are only good if enough paid bloggers agree with him...
Posted by: Beth | June 14, 2008 11:44 PM
Doug,
I believe that diplomacy would be setting the "pre-conditions" for any possible meeting. Unlike Senator Boy Wonder who would just show-up at Iran's front-door and say "Let's talk".
Posted by: Terry | June 15, 2008 11:11 AM