World Leader Wanted

The Frederalist has a post from December 29 on why Foreign Policy Cred is a must and why Fed fits that cred.

World Leader Wanted: Foreign Policy Cred a Must

When the world isn't experiencing some major upheaval or another, domestic issues tend to rise to the top of voters' lists of concerns. But when a crisis arises in some foreign land, especially a situation which could seriously impact the United States, priorities get reordered. And so recent events in Pakistan are having an impact on the American presidential campaign. Foreign policy expertise just became a hot commodity in the race for the White House.

For Republicans, the list of viable candidates with foreign policy experience of any substance has only two names - John McCain and Fred Thompson. The word "Senator" on their resumes has suddenly become more important than the title "Governor" on the portfolios of Romney and Huckabee and the descriptive "Mayor" on Giuliani's. Isn't it interesting how an assassination in a nation possessing about a hundred nuclear weapons and sharing borders with Afghanistan and India can have that effect?

Of the two, McCain's Senate career is longer, but Thompson's more broadly based. With 21 years experience, McCain's involvement with foreign policy is mostly related to his membership on the Armed Forces Committee. Thompson spent 8 years in Congress' upper chamber, serving on several Senate committees, including the Select Committee on Intelligence, where he was also on the National Security Working Group, which observes and monitors executive branch negotiations with foreign governments. He was a member of the Foreign Relations Committee and the Judiciary Committee, serving on the Technology, Terrorism and Gov't. Information Subcommittee. Finally, Thompson was a member of the Committee on Finance and served on its International Trade Subcommittee. [more here]