How does this get published? Posted by Max Bergmann

The New York Times ran an oped today by Philip Bobbitt and John Danforth that supposedly makes a bipartisan call for the presidential candidates to answer 12 foreign policy questions. They write:

Yet with respect to national security, neither campaign has articulated the fundamental points of view that will allow people to make an informed choice in November.

Excuse me? NEITHER campaign? Umm... Go to his website http://www.barackobama.com/issues/foreignpolicy/ and READ! He has pages and pages of policy positions that almost fully answer each of the conservatively framed questions the authors put forth. It is not surprising that two people would not take the time to actually do some research and preparation before writing. It is however surprising that the preeminent paper in the United States would allow itself to be used to perpetuate the lie that Obama has no policy specifics. Just to push the point home a bit further this at the bottom of his foreign policy page:

For More Information about Barack's Plan

Read the Speech and Learn More About Barack Obama’s Plan on Iraq and Iran
Read the Speech on Nuclear Weapons and Diplomacy
Read the Speech on Counter-Terrorism Strategy | Read the Plan
Read the Speech on Restoring American Leadership
Read the Speech on Latin America and the Caribbean | Read the Plan
Read Obama’s Plan for a 21st Century Military
Barack Obama’s Agenda for a Stronger Partnership with Europe
Read Barack Obama’s Plan to Actively Engage China
Barack Obama’s Strategy to Promote Global Development and Diplomacy

But if you go to the equivalent McCain's website you will find few answers to any of the authors questions. Why? Because John McCain has laid out very few foreign policy specifics throughout this campaign. We still don't know what he means by "victory" in Iraq. He has laid out no specific plan or strategy for achieving this undefined "victory." He has almost no specific proposals on Afghanistan or terrorism (he did follow Obama's lead and call for more troops in Afghanistan yet he never said where they would come from). Yet what we do know about the few positions John McCain has taken on foreign policy - refusing diplomatic engagement with Iran and North Korea and staying indefinitely in Iraq - make him even more extreme than George Bush.

update: This post mistaken refered to Philip Bobbit as a Republican. It has been corrected.