Morning Update: McCain a Realistic Idealist
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) laid out his broad foreign policy agenda in a speech Wednesday at the Los Angeles World Affairs Council.
Citing his own family’s experiences, McCain stressed his abhorrence of war, but said the United States must be “successful” in the military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq so that those countries can become “stable democracies themselves.” Calling for democracy promotion in the region, McCain said U.S. officials can “no longer delude ourselves that relying on these outdated autocracies is the safest bet.” Summing up his foreign policy views, McCain said he is a “realistic idealist.”
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) both released statements (Clinton’s, Obama’s) responding to McCain’s statements on Iraq and emphasizing their own pledges to end the war.
