First Debate: Foreign Policy Summary

In what was to be a debate on foreign policy, the subject didn't really come up until 38 minutes in when moderator Jim Lehrer asked about the lessons of Iraq. John McCain's lesson was that we needed a better strategy. Barack Obama's lesson was that Iraq took our focus off fighting Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Both candidates agreed we need more troops in Afghanistan.

McCain said a nuclear Iran is an "existential threat" to the United States, and we need a league of democracies to deal with that. Obama said dealing with Iran will also require the cooperation of non-democracies like China and Russia.

McCain was critical of Obama for saying he would talk to Iran. What followed was a discussion about what "preconditions" mean versus "preparations" for such talks with adversaries. And this devolved into: "Henry Kissinger agrees with me. No, he agrees with me." I assume the former secretary of state will clear this up in the near future.

On Russia, Obama said their actions in Georgia were unacceptable. McCain said the real issue here is energy security.

Lehrer concluded by asking if we are at risk of another 9/11-type attack. McCain said we are safer but far from safe enough. He touted his role in creating the 9/11 Commission and getting most of the recommendations passed into law. Obama said we are safer in some ways, but to be truly safe we have to re-focus on Al Qaeda and win more respect in the world.

In the end, McCain said he had been involved in every major national security discussion over the last 20 years, and Obama does not have the experience needed for the job. Obama said his father tried so hard to come to America from Kenya because America inspired the world, and we need to get back to that global leadership role. (Full transcript from CNN.)

Reactions
The Washington Note: "Others will spin as they will -- but this was a really surprising encounter as far as I'm concerned. I thought Obama would trounce McCain, and it didn't come near to that."

Obsidian Wings: "As I said, close. But this was supposed to be McCain's strong debate, remember."