John McCain, not having to worry about a primary battle anymore, traveled to Iraq and other locations in the Middle East last week, and got to look very Presidential in the press coverage - a big advantage of having the nomination sewn up.
He returned and made a major policy speech on foreign policy. You can read about it in The Seattle Times. Now, I take campaign promises with a grain of salt, and I'm not sure about how McCain will specifically do these things - I didn't hear details in the report on the speech. However, foreign policy is supposed to be his strong suit and I was happy to hear him say two things:
1. He believes the U.S. needs to work to restore it's image around the world and adopt less of a "go it alone" attitude that we have seen from the Bush Administration.
"Today we are not alone," McCain said. "Our great power does not mean we
can do whatever we want whenever we want, nor should we assume we have all the
wisdom and knowledge necessary to succeed."
2. He called for a reduction in nuclear arms. McCain called for U.S.-led worldwide reduction in nuclear weapons:
"We do not need all the weapons currently in our arsenal." He offered no
specifics.
3. He said that America should not torture prisoners and should close Guantanamo Bay.
Unfortunately, McCain is going to have a hard time (in my opinion) convincing the rest of the world that he is a different sort of President than Bush unless he begins to indicate that we will do things much differently in Iraq and begin to withdraw our troops from that country. Much of the world, rightly or wrongly, sees our presence there as a manifestation of American arrogance, and that won't go away until we take some meaningful action. Closing Guantanamo Bay will not be enough - we must also reduce our military presence in Iraq as soon as possible.
7 comments:
Julie Soderlind P4
I'm not a republican and I do not support most republican views, possibly because I came into political life with George at the helm, but it seems to me like McCain is trying to go a different rout. While he stands by Bush and appears to support him, recently he has been politely insulting Bush's policy or alluding to the change that must be made to fix the trouble our country is in. While I understand that he stands to gain much from distancing himself from our current president, I can't help but wonder if he really wants to make things different. WIth Bush's approval ratings how they are it seems that most americans, republicans included, are ready for a change- not just in their presedent but also in the way our country is run. I regret not knowing more about recent political history because McCain's policies seem like good ideas to me, but he may tell a different story than he actually accomplishes, I dont know how realistic they are. A major factor in my decision this election will be our global reputation and that the candidate will be a ble to salvage the ruins it is in.
Sorry its late Corragio, I completely forgot on Friday :)
Julie Soderlind P4
I'm not a republican and I do not support most republican views, possibly because I came into political life with George at the helm, but it seems to me like McCain is trying to go a different rout. While he stands by Bush and appears to support him, recently he has been politely insulting Bush's policy or alluding to the change that must be made to fix the trouble our country is in. While I understand that he stands to gain much from distancing himself from our current president, I can't help but wonder if he really wants to make things different. WIth Bush's approval ratings how they are it seems that most americans, republicans included, are ready for a change- not just in their presedent but also in the way our country is run. I regret not knowing more about recent political history because McCain's policies seem like good ideas to me, but he may tell a different story than he actually accomplishes, I dont know how realistic they are. A major factor in my decision this election will be our global reputation and that the candidate will be a ble to salvage the ruins it is in.
Sorry its late Corragio, I completely forgot on Friday :)
This is a make-up for friday's current events.I had a dentist appoitment.
From what John McCain said about his foreign policy and what he's gonna do to get our country out of the state we are in now, made me open my eyes to thinking that he could possibly be our next president.He supports Bush but seems to contradict him in this particular area.I think this is the most important area that our country to fix right away.Based on what he said, I think that he will be getting many more supporters.Our country needs to better our reputation around the world and I hope he isn't lying about what he said.If he is elected president,I hope he uses his presidential power to stop what's going on in Iraq and show the whole world that we want peace and not war.Most Americans want a change including the republican party.But I agree that we need to do much more than closing the bay if we want to convince the world that we mean no harm.
that anomynus one is Daunte's from fifth period.
Dear Ladiesman217,
I agree with John McCain's first policy. The idea that the image of the United States should be patched up is , well a good one. All too often I hear how America is disliked whether because of its president or for some other reason from movies, shows, or even friends who have traveled to distant countries and have spoken with people of those countries. If John McCain healed Americas image i think less problems would arise with other countries and we would be in a better position with the world. Im not really sure of the importance of nuclear weapons just their devastating potential so im not sure whether it would be better to get rid of them or to keep them. However, i agree with you Ladiesman217 that more action should be taken to help alleviate the idea of Americas arrogance, this would tie to Mr. Johnny McCains first policy to help fix Americas image.
Love, JEREMY PATOC (Its late cause i was on the band trip, im sure you understand, so you know... its still full credit worthy)
Concerning McCain's 1st policy - While our presence in Iraq might be the "manifestation of American Arrogance", it is still necessary. Iraq is undergoing a r/evolution and will be unstable until it is finished. For all the human rights violations that are and have taken place, an immediate or hasty withdrawal would take back all of our hard-won progress and Iraq would teeter on the brink of becoming the next Darfur. While the U.S. needs to wrap things up in the middle east, a premature withdrawal will only lead to more violence.
-Allen Smith, esq.
Bush has made me against republican ways so its hard for me to open up and see a republican side. But as i listen to more of McCain, it seems to me that hes trying to take a different rout and change what bush has done. It seems to me that many republicans are ready for a change but it seems like mcCain is going to have to campaign about twice as hard because of the reputation the republicans seem to have. I feel that we as americans should forget the past and let him speak and we should listen and take in what he has to say. as i read more, in ways i feel that he knows what he is doing.
Maggie Caetano ( just a wee bit late) =)
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