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home > campaign 2008 > campaign blog: the candidates and the world
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) released his plan to “confront 21st-century threats” on Wednesday. The plan includes measures to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism and strengthen U.S. bio-security and cyber security.
A new Pew poll measures perceptions of the presidential candidates abroad.
A New York Times/CBS poll shows voters far more concerned about the economy than about the war in Iraq.
“I’ll make cyber security the top priority that it should be in the 21st century. I’ll
declare our cyber-infrastructure a strategic asset, and appoint a National Cyber Advisor who will report directly to me. We’ll coordinate efforts across the federal government, implement a truly national cyber-security policy, and tighten standards to secure information – from the networks that power the federal government, to the networks that you use in your personal lives.”
–Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), in remarks Wednesday at a summit on “Confronting New Threats.”
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) on Wednesday voted in favor of a new FISA bill (WashPost) which lifted restrictions on domestic spying and granted legal immunity to telecommunications companies that cooperated in the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) missed the vote, but has expressed support for the bill.
McCain on Wednesday praised Defense Secretary Robert Gates for his reopening of the Air Force tanker deal to new bidders.
In a Los Angeles Times op-ed on Wednesday, Obama foreign policy advisers Madeleine Albright and William Perry argue against McCain’s proposal to oust Russia from the G-8.
Ahead of an expected vote this week in the Senate on expanding the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) defended his decision to support recent compromise legislation. He wrote in a blog post on his campaign website that the bill “does not resolve all of the concerns that we have about President Bush’s abuse of executive power” but that a new provision in the bill “makes it clear to any president or telecommunications company that no law supersedes the authority of the FISA court.” A Senate vote on the measure is expected this week.
For a complete rundown of the candidates’ stances on domestic intelligence policy, see this CFR.org Issue Tracker.
The Boston Globe compares the candidates’ Afghanistan strategies.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) laid out his energy policy plans in a speech in Houston, Texas. McCain called for offshore drilling and attacked proposals for a windfall profits tax on oil companies.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) announced the formation of his new national security advisory team, which includes former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA). The full list of members of the working group is available here.
Responding to reports that the U.S. government has been recruiting “mentally distressed veterans” for pharmaceutical drug tests that have been associated with suicide, Obama said in a statement Tuesday that it is “outrageous and unacceptable that our government would irresponsibly endanger veterans.” He promised to request a “full and thorough investigation.”
“These are not American citizens. They are enemy combatants. I think this is one of th
e biggest mistakes that’s been made in terms of our ability to defend our nation in a long, long time.”
–Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), commenting on Friday on the Supreme Court’s ruling that prisoners at Guantanamo Bay can challenge their detention in civilian courts.
Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL) and John McCain (R-AZ) took starkly different positions (NYT) on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to allow detainees at Guantanamo challenge their detention in court. Obama praised the court’s decision, calling the ruling “an important step toward re-establishing our credibility as a nation committed to the rule of law, and rejecting a false choice between fighting terrorism and respecting habeas corpus.” McCain, meanwhile, said the ruling concerned him. “These are unlawful combatants; they’re not American citizens,” he said.
Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) ended his bid (AP) for the Republican nomination on Thursday.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi expressed his support (WashPost) for McCain’s presidential candidacy on Thursday.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) yesterday elaborated (AFP) on his remarks in a speech before AIPAC that Jerusalem must remain the “undivided” capital of Israel. In an interview with CNN, Obama said a divided Jerusalem would be “very difficult to execute.” Israel “has a legitimate claim on that city,” he said.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors & Press Association that President Bush should keep the American public better informed about the Iraq war. He said as president he would hold a weekly briefing about Iraq, “even if it was only carried on C-SPAN.”
In a letter posted on the National Review’s website, top McCain adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin says McCain supports warrantless wiretapping of Americans.
Mitt Romney suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination
Thursday after a poor showing in the Super Tuesday primaries. As voters became preoccupied with economic concerns, the former Massachusetts governor ran on the idea that a successful venture capitalist like him could repair the economy. “I spent my entire life in the real economy. I know why jobs come; I know why they go,” he said in a speech after losing the Florida primary in January. “The economy is in my DNA.” A professed free trader, Romney also was quick to show his support for ailing U.S. industries he believed were allowed to lag competitively in the global economy. Such was the case in his native state of Michigan, where he promised to bring back manufacturing jobs that his rival, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), said were lost.
That message won in Michigan but Romney’s strategy of seizing on illegal immigration as a wedge issue with other Republicans did not win him enough support in the end. Romney took a hard line on illegal immigration throughout the campaign, often attacking his opponents for being soft on the issue. Like his Republican opponents, he called for a physical and technological fence to be built on the U.S.-Mexico border. He also proposed issuing a biometric identification card for immigrants, and spoke forcefully against amnesty or any “special pathway” to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
On the torture issue, Romney refused to say whether he would rule out the controversial use of waterboarding, saying in a November 2007 debate he did not think “it’s wise for us to describe specifically which measures we would and would not use.” Romney has also expressed firm support for maintaining the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, and even expanding it.
Romney supported the Bush administration’s troop surge in Iraq, though at first not as vigorously as McCain. He generally pointed to “jihadism” as the most pressing threat (Foreign Affairs) to the United States, calling it the “defining challenge of our generation.” He highlighted this concern in his speech announcing suspension of his campaign, saying he did not want to fracture the Republican Party at a time of war and strengthen the hand of Democratic front-runners intent on drawing down the U.S. troop levels in Iraq.
Republican Mike Huckabee, who five years ago said he thought the trade embargo against Cuba was bad for business and should be lifted, now says he supports the embargo (LAT).
Libya: Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), with six other senators, sent a letter yesterday asking Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to urge Libya to compensate victims of the 1988 Pan Am 103 bombing and the 1986 bombing of a discotheque in Berlin. Libya agreed to pay the victims in 2003, but has yet to fulfill that obligation, the letter says.
National Security: Dodd responded yesterday to Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell’s plea for Congress to renew the Protect America Act. In cases where the government wants to spy on American citizens, Dodd says, “we must continue to demand a warrant, as [prescribed] by the Fourth Amendment and followed by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, even if it is issued after-the-fact.”
Climate Change: Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) yesterday praised the Bali climate change talks. He said as president he would ask other leaders to join a global forum that would “continue the work begun in Bali and lay the foundation for the next generation of climate protocols.”
Copyright 2007 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.
