McCain Shows Tough and Soft Sides in Foreign Policy Speech
March 26: John McCain addresses members and guests of the Los Angeles Worlds Affairs Council. (AP Photo)
John McCain on Wednesday sought to portray himself as an international tough cop with a soft, understanding side needed to navigate increasingly choppy international waters.
In a speech before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, McCain renewed his vows to continue the fight against radical Islamic extremists, brushed off new criticism lobbed his way by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, defined success in Iraq, and wagged a finger at international powerhouses Russia and China for curbing liberties of their citizens.
But he also pushed for lofty, good-cop goals like a repeated call for a “League of Democracies” to strengthen ties between non-dictatorship countries that abide by the rule of law; an approach to winning the War on Terror that uses not only “smart bombs” but also scholarships; a more aggressive approach to climate change; and a pledge to eradicate malaria from Africa.
In his remarks, McCain attempted to distance himself from — without naming — the current administration by paying homage to the will of other free countries that might disagree with the United States.
“We need to listen to the views, and respect the collective will of our democratic allies. When we international action is necessary — whether military, economic or diplomatic — we will try to persuade our friends that we are right. But we, in return, must be willing to be persuaded by them,” McCain said.
But the presumptive Republican presidential candidate made no bones about refusing to cooperate with dictators and tyrants.
“Someone noticed here that (Venezualan) President (Hugo) Chavez had some very unkind remarks about me yesterday,” McCain told the audience during a question-and-answer session. “I’m a bit flattered.”
On Tuesday, Chavez told a group of foreign reporters that “McCain seems to be a man of war too. He said yesterday that Bush has been very tolerant with Chavez. He’s gone to Iraq to offer more weapons and more dollars - and more war. … God save us — and beyond God, may the people of the United States save us from greater madness.”
Critics at home and abroad have accused Bush of employing a go-it-alone foreign policy in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks when the administration spurned international calls for caution and led the invasion into Iraq. Democrats have derided McCain as offering the same foreign policies as Bush, whose support is at a low point as the public craves change.Mindful of a need to lay out his own vision for the future and distance himself from the existing administration policies, McCain voiced a more collaborative approach.
“The United States cannot lead by virtue of its power alone,” McCain said. Instead, the country must lead by attracting others to its cause, demonstrating the virtues of freedom and democracy, defending the rules of an international civilized society and creating new international institutions to advance peace and freedom, he said.
“If we lead by shouldering our international responsibilities and pointing the way to a better and safer future for humanity … it will strengthen us to confront the transcendent challenge of our time: the threat of radical Islamic terrorism,” said McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war who has decades of foreign affairs experience in the Senate.
McCain only made one outright reference to Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, saying their plans for withdrawal from Iraq would lead to long-lasting repercussions for the United States and the world.
“I believe a reckless and premature withdrawal would be a terrible defeat for our security interests and our values,” McCain said, noting that Iran would “see its influence in the Middle East grow significantly.”
“These consequences of our defeat would threaten us for years, and those who argue for it — as both Democratic candidates do — are arguing for a course that would eventually draw us into a wider and more difficult war that would entail far greater dangers and sacrifices than we have suffered to date,” McCain said.
McCain also drew applause for his definition of success in Iraq and Afghanistan, which he said “is the establishment of peaceful, stable, prosperous, democratic states that pose no threat to neighbors and contribute to the defeat of terrorists … It is the triumph of religious tolerance over violent radicalism.”
McCain said the United States’ goal in fighting Islamic extremists should be “to win the hearts and minds of the vast majority of moderate Muslims who do not want their future controlled by a minority of violent extremists.
“In this struggle, scholarships will be far more important than smart bombs.”
After the speech, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said McCain’s remarks were nothing more than “empty rhetoric,” and that despite McCain’s efforts, Bush and McCain’s policies are innately linked, according to a DNC release.
“John McCain’s empty rhetoric today can’t change the fact that he has steadfastly stood with President Bush from day one and is now talking about keeping our troops in Iraq for 100 years,” Dean said.
“His new appreciation for diplomacy has no credibility after he mimicked President Bush’s misleading case for a unilateral war of choice when it mattered most. Why should the American people now trust John McCain to offer anything more than four more years of President Bush’s reckless economic policies and failed foreign policy?” Dean asked.
McCain’s campaign billed the foreign policy speech as a major address, the first of several scheduled in the coming weeks as the GOP nominee-in-waiting seeks to reintroduce himself to the general public and outline his stances on a range of issues.
Among other proposals, McCain said the United States should lead a global nuclear disarmament effort as he called for a renewed commitment to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
He said Russia should not be a part of the G-8 group of leading global economic powers, but India and Brazil should be, criticizing Russia for “nuclear blackmail and cyber attacks.”
Regarding China, McCain sounded an optimistic note, saying the United States and China “are not destined to be adversaries,” but he called on them to be more transparent of their military buildup and to work with other nations “to isolate pariah states such as Burma, Sudan and Zimbabwe.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Do ya think you could make this easier to print?
just like McCain reaches out to embrace our enemies across the aisle, he will reach out to embrace our enemies around the world. may God have mercy on America
When are you going to stop giving the increasingly “liberal” “Associated Press” access to a what most have come to characterize as a “conservative” news organization! As we get closer and closer to election their reporting increasingly mirror’s the liberal extablishment’s talking points. Their reporting would best be at home in the Drive by Media or all the other major network news programs we conservatives have abandoned for Fox News!
I admire the resolve that President Bush displays but he is so stuborn. It is refreshing to see Mr McCain’s approach to world problems. I think it better to have the willfull cooperation of other world members than to be the only one out on the street at high noon.
I would like Senator McCain to have the same resolve as President Bush on the war effort.
I do not want to “get along” to appease others.Cooperation through listening and coming to some kind of understanding is all well and good unless it interferes with our security and freedom.
That goes for liberals as well as our enemy and sometimes their talking points are quite similar!
America needs to be defended by staying on the offense.
How are giving scholarships gonna help keep America strong and secure?
That is a form of appeasement or a way for the enemy to disguise themselves.
We need to be more aggressive on the War on Terror and less aggressive on climate change.
Climate change is a natural occurrence such as weather patterns.
It is a natural function of the earth.
Senator McCain is not my first choice but I will vote for him.
My first choice was Governor Romney who is also supporting Senator McCain.
John McCain is our only choice! Not voting will elect liberal Democrats!
God Save America from Liberals and our Enemy!
God Bless America!
Bite me Howard Dean! I can trust McCain. Also there was a time when he really went up against Bush. So no he is not another bush, but he is the only one capable of handling the current situations. OBama would love nothing more than to tuck our tail and run. - Hmmm come to think of it so would Iran. any relation?
It scares me that he wants to close down Gitmo. What good will this do? Won’t these terrorists have to be represented in our courts? Sounds like a disaster to me?
And the issue of torture - sorry, water boarding doesn’t sound like torture to me. And it provides results.
What was wrong with Mitt Romney? He was my choice…
I’m sorry to see McCain pandering to Western Europe. In general,they are an ungrateful, selfserving, bunch of socialist, dependent appeasers. They are irrelevant as is their opinion of America.
Sure it’s nice to have the world on our side but the duty of the president of the United States is to protect and defend the United States of America with or without anybody else’s agreement.
Rhetoric!!! This from the dictator of the DNC. That man should be too ashamed to show his face in public rather than try to discredit a good man like McCain. The dems don’t know what honesty is all about so they fear the man that is honest.
Go away Howard Dean. You are a laughing stock of the dem’s and the republicans.
I dont think america has any allies left. Maybe england i think the queen is running things any way.America has not won a war since grenada and the queen helped us in that ,oh yeah we beat panama and libya too.We lost vietnam and korea.Everyone thinks we won wold war 2 single handedly, but really we were just on the winning side with russia and france most of germany and i think the queen was in on that too.World war one was a draw,we lost the civil war to the north.We think we won the mexican american war,but i really dont think the mexicans are finished yet.I ll never understand why we fought the spanish american war in the phillipines i guess macarthur couldnt read a map.But we did win the revolutionary war with england and now they are our only allies i think it was a setup the queen is really running the show.Does anyone know what the population of canada is ithink the queen runs that place too.
McCain’s comments seem to say we will offer a olive branch but will verify and keep our strenght to use when we are betrayed.
Doug S did you ever happen to notice that politicians we elect to go to Congress represent all Americans, not just the very conservative or very liberal members of our parties? Americans with views different than your own are not your enemy. Neither is the rest of the World population your enemy.
Just like McCain to give away the store. He is completely clueless. The only good thing about this and McCain is that he won’t remember it next week. Another good reason to stay away from the polls in November.
Mr McCain stated he wants to keep America safe then a few sentences later stated he wants to close Gitmo. Is he pandering for votes from the left & moderates or is he truly serious? If serious, where would he like to place the “wonderful individuals” in detention @ Gitmo? I can’t comment on McCain’s global warming comments with any degree of civility. It gets harder to openly support McCain everytime I hear his opinions.
Bush started the Iraq war for our own good. McCain will start the Third World War for our own good.
John Kerry once asked McCain to be his running mate.With this speech I can understand why.McCain will do everything possible to blur the lines between the Republican and Democrat parties in order to get so-called moderates and independents to support him.He is taking for granted that the conservative base of the GOP will rally to support him because we have no where else to turn.The media keeps touting McCain’s efforts to reach out to conservatives in the Republican Party.So far he has done nothing!And it is nothing he will get in return.Conservatives unite!Take back the GOP! Write in the name of a real conservative this November and end McCain’s political treachery!
Now thats real change. I was going to vote Obama. Not now. Go John………Im so tired of the Dem’s fighting.
Okay, first off, McCain is an extension of Bush and it is really sad that he thinks he deserves to win with those antics. This is pathetic I mean what are his plans and ideas on the economy and healthcare and everything else this country consists of. Does he not understand that he and Bush are the only 2 still pushing for this war!!!!! I’m tired of losing friends over a worthless war and I’m sure mothers and fathers are tired of hanging flags in their homes as opposed to having their kids come home. Think about that!!!
It is refreshing to have someone that understands surrender is not an option. The 4000 lives already given as well as the lives lost in other conflict make surrender unthinkable. Personally I prefer nuking Iran to backing out of Iraq. One tactical nuke could end all the support Iran is giving radicals around the world. That nut case Chavez would also shut up and the world could get back to normal.
I just love reading Howard Dean’s commentary on John McCain and Republicans in general. McCain lays out a significant effort to restore our relationships and credibility among democracies and Dean calls it “empty rhetoric.” I guess Howard has completely missed the fact that his party’s female candidate, the one with absolutely no foreign policy experience, lies like crazy: note her comments about coming under sniper fire and having to run for cover when she landed in Bosnia. She and Dean are laughingstocks, and nothing more. Keep going Mr. Dean … the more stupidity you spout, the easier it will be for McCain to become our next president.
Oh, isn’t that sweet. McCain shows his tough and soft side.
He’s a metrosexual!
Mac is Back!
His plan sounds good to me. We needed this several years ago.
I completely agree with Mike McDonald
March 26th, 2008 at 9:21 am.
This news organization, who you would think has plenty of money for it’s own reporters and sources for gathering information, is increasingly looking like the main stream media. I too have noticed that stories coming from fox is constantly using the ‘left slanted’ AP press for reporting the “news”. I have always come to fox for a different side of the story being reported on by the ‘left’, but what is the point if your just going to report the same stories reported as the main stream media? Just because the associated press prints a story does not make it a true story, and I expect fox to do it’s own reporting. It’s not like you don’t have any money.
Geez that is funny. McCain actually says he will “listen” to our allies and that’s a big deal in republican circles. I guess the current practice of “demeaning” and “alienating” our allies like Bush has maybe isn’t working well?
Duh.
We need more than listening to allies, we need more and more allies in the current international climate. It’ll take ten plus years after the current incompetence of W, but we can get there faster with a pres that doesn’t think it’s a big deal just to “listen” to allies.
Allies are critical to us, show respect and make coalitions that make us safer.