Obama Campaign Seeks to Counter McCain on Foreign Policy
By Josh Rogin, CQ Staff
Barack Obama ’s senior foreign policy advisor yesterday called John McCain “reckless” on foreign policy as the Obama campaign stepped up its efforts to reframe the debate in an area where the presumed Democratic nominee has been on the defensive.
Obama had sharply criticized McCain in a Wednesday speech in Virginia, saying, “We can’t have the same kind of shoot first and aim second (approach) in our foreign policy. We’ve got to have some kind of judgment in our foreign policy and restore our alliances around the world.”
Susan Rice, Obama’s senior foreign policy advisor, went further and used the work “reckless” to describe McCain several times in a Wednesday conference call with reporters.
“McCain has a long track record of supporting reckless and extreme foreign policy . . . it’s dangerous,” said Rice, who also linked McCain to neoconservative leaders who pushed for war in Iraq and alienated western allies in the aftermath of 9/11.
“McCain’s reaction to 9/11 revealed a reflexive approach to national security that’s even worse than the excesses of George W. Bush ,” Rice said.
Former counter-terrorism official Richard Clarke, another Obama advisor, called McCain’s national security rhetoric over the last eight years as “reckless, trigger happy, and largely discredited.”
The Obama camp appeared to be laying the groundwork for a full blown drive to stick the “reckless” tag on McCain, question his temperament and to depict him as “out of touch.”
(Continued here.)
Barack Obama ’s senior foreign policy advisor yesterday called John McCain “reckless” on foreign policy as the Obama campaign stepped up its efforts to reframe the debate in an area where the presumed Democratic nominee has been on the defensive.
Obama had sharply criticized McCain in a Wednesday speech in Virginia, saying, “We can’t have the same kind of shoot first and aim second (approach) in our foreign policy. We’ve got to have some kind of judgment in our foreign policy and restore our alliances around the world.”
Susan Rice, Obama’s senior foreign policy advisor, went further and used the work “reckless” to describe McCain several times in a Wednesday conference call with reporters.
“McCain has a long track record of supporting reckless and extreme foreign policy . . . it’s dangerous,” said Rice, who also linked McCain to neoconservative leaders who pushed for war in Iraq and alienated western allies in the aftermath of 9/11.
“McCain’s reaction to 9/11 revealed a reflexive approach to national security that’s even worse than the excesses of George W. Bush ,” Rice said.
Former counter-terrorism official Richard Clarke, another Obama advisor, called McCain’s national security rhetoric over the last eight years as “reckless, trigger happy, and largely discredited.”
The Obama camp appeared to be laying the groundwork for a full blown drive to stick the “reckless” tag on McCain, question his temperament and to depict him as “out of touch.”
(Continued here.)
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