“I announce my readiness to meet with all the presidential candidates of the United
States and have a live debate with them.”
–Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at a press conference (PRESS TV) at the D8 summit of developing nations Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“[P]rotectionism not only puts a hidden tax on almost everything you buy, but it
undermines American competitiveness and costs jobs. Ninety-five percent of the world’s consumers live outside the U.S. Our future prosperity depends on opening more of these markets, not closing them.”
–Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in a speech Monday on his economic plan. For more on McCain’s trade stance, see this Issue Tracker.
“We do the cause of free-trade – a cause I believe in – no good when we pass trade
agreements that hand out favors to special interests and do little to help workers who have to watch their factories close down. There is nothing protectionist about demanding that trade spreads the benefits of globalization as broadly as possible.”
–Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), in a speech Monday on his agenda for the middle class. For more on Obama’s trade stance, see this Issue Tracker.
“When we pile up mountains of debt for the next generation to absorb, or put off changes to our energy policies, knowing full well the potential consequences of inaction, we are placing our short-term interests ahead of the nation’s long-term well-being. When we fail to educate effectively millions of our children so that they might compete in a global economy, or we fail to invest in the basic scientific research that has driven innovation in this country, we risk leaving behind an America that has fallen in the ranks of the world. Just as patriotism involves each of us making a commitment to this nation that extends beyond our own immediate self-interest, so must that commitment extends beyond our own time here on earth.”
–Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), in a speech Monday in Independence, Missouri.
“[B]efore we hand over more of our land and our coastline to oil companies, I will charge those companies a fee for every acre that they currently lease but don’t drill on. If that compels them to drill, we’ll get more oil. If it doesn’t, the fees will go toward more investment in renewable sources of energy.”
–Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), in a speech Tuesday on energy policy.
“Some in Washington seem to think that we can still persuade OPEC to lower prices — as if reason or cajolery had never been tried before. Others have even suggested suing OPEC — as if we can litigate our way to energy security. But America is not going to meet this great challenge as a supplicant or a plaintiff. We are not going to meet it with words at all — we are going to meet it with action.”
–Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in a speech Monday on energy security.
“Quite rightly, I believe, we confer a special status on some areas of our country that are best left undisturbed. When America set aside the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, we called it a ‘refuge’ for a reason.
But the stakes are high for our citizens and for our economy. And with gasoline running at more than four bucks a gallon, many do not have the luxury of waiting on the far-off plans of futurists and politicians. We have proven oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States. But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production. And I believe it is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and to put our own reserves to use.”
–Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in a speech Tuesday on energy security.
“I don’t think an agreement that allows South Korea to import hundreds of thousands of cars into the U.S., but continues to restrict U.S. car exports into South Korea to a few thousand, is a smart deal. I don’t think that trade agreements without labor or environmental agreements are in our long term interests. If we continue to let our trade policy be dictated by special interests, then American workers will continue to be undermined, and public support for robust trade will continue to erode.”
–Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), in a speech Monday in Flint, Michigan on U.S. economic competitiveness.
“These are not American citizens. They are enemy combatants. I think this is one of the 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.
“I want to break down foreign trade barriers, so that America’s small businesses can compete abroad. When new trading partners can sell in our market, and American companies can sell in theirs, the gains are great and lasting. The strength of the American economy offers a better life to every society we trade with, and the good comes back to us in many ways — in better jobs, higher wages, and lower prices. Free trade can also give once troubled and impoverished nations a stake in the world economy, and in their relations with America.”
–Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in a speech Tuesday on economic policy.
“We do the cause of free-trade – a cause I believe in – no good when we pass trade agreements that hand out favors to special interests and do little to help workers who have to watch their factories close down. There is nothing protectionist about demanding that trade spreads the benefits of globalization as broadly as possible.”
–Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), in a speech Monday on economic policy.
Copyright 2008 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.
