William Pfaff’s view is usually pretty spot on. I agree with his take on the election.
There are two major issues relevant he says. The economy and foreign policy. I would add Supreme Court seats as a long-term very important issue.
On the economy Obama’s team is simply better than McCain’s ideological ‘free marketers’.
On foreign policy Obama and McCain are very much of the same track and likely to do the same stupid things. But the real question might be who will learn faster:
The fundamental question that should be put to the candidates is whether they are committed to a program of continuing American unilateral military and political interventions in the Muslim world intended to make despotic and “failed” states into democracies on good terms with the United States. They undoubtedly would both say yes.
That’s too bad for the rest of us, who will be among those paying the price. Such a policy is the conventional wisdom in Washington, and certainly that of the array of former Clinton advisers so far reported as associated with Obama. The people publicly connected with McCain are all or nearly all survivors of the neo-conservative wing of the Bush administration (and not the brightest lights among the neo-cons either).
They all seem determined to press forward with the democracy offensive of the discredited Bush administration. Naturally they intend to make a better job of it, having noticed that under Bush the record thus far consists exclusively of failures.
Since the candidates currently seem agreed on this policy, the final
question is not who would do it better, but which of them would be
quickest to realize that it is impossible. Intelligence isn’t
everything; but Obama is seriously smart and seems to have common sense
as well.
That argument should be thought through by people on the in the possible swing states, who have decided not to vote for Obama. The chance that he may learn that the current failed program of U.S. hegemony must end is certainly there. I think that is a decisive point. If things get really as bad as I expect and he gets enough pressure from ‘the street’ he may tip into that direction.
