Wednesday
Jun042008
McCain campaign: Obama disparages European allies
The McCain campaign hosted a conference call in response to Senator Barack Obama’s speech at the annual AIPAC policy conference. Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), House Chief Deputy Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va), and Randy Scheunemann, foreign policy advisor to Senator John McCain, spoke during the call and gave their thoughts on Obama’s recent statements.
Lieberman said there was a "disconnect" between what Obama said at the conference and what he previously said regarding the level of threat Iran poses. Cantor mentioned that it is easy to talk about supporting Israel, but much harder to actually do so. He said that McCain has a strong background in the military and extensive experience in the region, which is an essential part of understanding (and hopefully resolving) the long-running conflict taking place in Israel.
Scheunemann said that Obama "disparaged" U.S. allies by saying it was important for the U.S. to be directly involved in negotiations with Iran. He also said that by applying pressure to Iran through European allies, McCain was acting as a statesman, which was an important aspect of U.S. foreign policy.
Lieberman said there was a "disconnect" between what Obama said at the conference and what he previously said regarding the level of threat Iran poses. Cantor mentioned that it is easy to talk about supporting Israel, but much harder to actually do so. He said that McCain has a strong background in the military and extensive experience in the region, which is an essential part of understanding (and hopefully resolving) the long-running conflict taking place in Israel.
Scheunemann said that Obama "disparaged" U.S. allies by saying it was important for the U.S. to be directly involved in negotiations with Iran. He also said that by applying pressure to Iran through European allies, McCain was acting as a statesman, which was an important aspect of U.S. foreign policy.
tagged 
Cantor, Israel, lieberman, mccain, obama in Election '08, News/Commentary
Cantor, Israel, lieberman, mccain, obama in Election '08, News/Commentary
Reader Comments (3)
These statements are just hollow nonsense. First of all, almost all of Europe is behind Obama. Second of all, not talking to your enemies is an idiotic idea, I don't even know how this has become a talking point of anyone. Can anyone name any example where not talking to an enemy produced a positive result? As Sun Tzu said, "keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
McCain is wildly punching the air. I guess he didn't get the memo that Americans have begun thinking about the things our politicians are telling us again as a result of the whole being lied to for the last 8 years bit.
As a result, whose going to give this claim any weight? The diehard McCain supporters only. The rest of us, MOST OF US, are going to try to think how this makes any sense at all and when we realize it doesn't, we're going to quietly wonder whether or not John McCain has started down the road to senility.
Get a clue guys - The issue isn't about "right/wrong", it's about playing well with our partners in the world.
What Bush did was declare he was right, by God, and it didn't make a difference what other countries thought. So the important element here isn't whether one should talk to Iran, it's about consulting with our partners in the world and listening.