Warriors of a Feather?

Robert Kaiser’s WAPO discussion of Obama and McCain’s foreign policy similarities contains a grain of truth. Kaiser points out that both want to increase the size of the military, and both envision using the armed forces for both “moral and strategic” reasons, and neither intends to end the war on terror.

But the examples used to make this case for symmetry actually demonstrate deep differences. Not in what the candidates would do, perhaps, but in why they would do it. In just war theory this makes all the difference.

Examples: Obama has cited Rwanda and Nazi Germany and promised to stem genocides where they occur during his watch. McCain pledges to “roll back rogue states” to spread democracy. These are completely different goals – spreading democracy is not the same as ending mass atrocity: in fact, the two goals typically work against one another. Moreover, while ending mass atrocity would constitute “just cause” under just war precepts, regime change to make other states look just like us would not.

In short, there is a world of difference suggested here – just not, perhaps, what some on the political left might hope.

Soft Power and the US Elections

Check this out: the majority of respondents in every country in a recent BBC poll say that their respect for Americans would increase if we elect Obama rather than McCain this Fall.

Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that McCain not only can't tell the difference between Sunni and Shia, but apparently thinks Spain is a country in Latin America.



If Americans put this guy in office after eight years of Bush, who can blame the rest of the world for associating us with the policies of our government?

How to Pick a VP

A lot of people are asking what the heck John McCain was thinking when he nominated Sarah Palin, the youngest governor ever of a state not even connected to the US mainland, someone who admits to smoking pot, who will certainly alienate rather than attract Hilary supporters, and whose best qualification for being Commander in Chief should McCain keel over is her ability to hunt moose.

JedReport has an answer. HT to Daily Kos.

Karadzic Pleads Not Guilty, Alleges Conspiracy

That's the big news story of the day from outside the continental United States, where all eyes are instead on McCain's bewildering VP pick. More on both when I finish hob-nobbing with political scientists at this year's APSA Conference.

Love Is In The Air

This says it all.

"That is Foolish."

Peter Suderman at Bloggingheads thinks John McCain is too much like Lieutenant Worf to be President.

Huh? John McCain, who falls asleep on the job, loves to mix politics and pleasure (with Earth females), likes to make fun of suicide bombers, and can't make up his mind whether the war in Iraq is a piece of cake or requires us to stay for another 100 years, is a lot like this fella?



McCain like loyal, trustworthy, steadfast, sensible, honorable, humorless Worf? I'm happy McCain won the nomination, but Suderman must simply be off his onion.

He's a Nut, But He's Our Nut

Dan Drezner’s blog shmarmily reproduced an excerpt from an op-ed by The New Republic's Jamie Kirchik today. Kirchik blasts Ron Paul over “obsession with conspiracies, sympathy for the right-wing militia movement, and deeply held bigotry against blacks, Jews, and gays,” continuing:

“In short... Ron Paul is not the plain-speaking antiwar activist his supporters believe they are backing--but rather a member in good standing of some of the oldest and ugliest traditions in American politics.”

But Kirchik’s piece and Drezner’s approving post, in which he calls her analysis “devastating,” assumes that Ron Paul "supporters" are supporting him as a candidate. The ones I know personally certainly aren't so naive. They know his record well, but also know that they have nothing to fear since he’ll never be nominated. They funnel him money and lip service in the hope he stays in the race long enough to keep boring old issues like the constitution, civil liberties, our international reputation, and the real meaning of patriotism on the Republican agenda.

Since John McCain, the only other Republican candidate with a similar regard for the Geneva Conventions, mopped the floor with the other candidates in the NH primary tonight suggests that the strategy is working. Paul may be a nut, but he’s a nut who makes a lot of sense on issues that many, many people care about, and in so doing he makes McCain look credible.