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Foxnews...
Obama’s String of
Foreign Policy Victories Still No Match for Economy in 2012 Election
October 22, 2011
With the takedown of Muammar Qaddafi and the announcement that the Iraq
war is coming to end, President Obama racked up more major victories on
foreign policy this week – the fourth in six months starting with Usama
bin Laden’s killing.
While Obama is likely to play up his foreign policy accomplishments on
the campaign trail, a struggling economy still looms over his
re-election bid.
“You will see TV ads about (his foreign policy victories),” Larry
Sabato, the director of the University of Virginia’s Center of
Politics, predicted to Fox News.
But he added, “With a bad economy, that is what voters are interested
in. That is what American history taught us. People normally vote on
the economy. That is more than half of the vote as far as I’m
concerned.”
But that hasn’t stopped Obama’s supporters from trying to find ways to
maximize his foreign policy success. One approach is to contrast them
with Congress’ partisan-driven gridlock on taxes, the deficit and other
domestic issues.
“Look at the progress the president can make when he doesn’t have
Republicans obstructing him,” said Karen Finney, a former Democratic
spokeswoman who often defends the party on TV and radio.
Former Democratic strategist Rebecca Kirszner Katz distributed a
similar remark on Twitter this week: “Terrorists and dictators, lacking
the filibuster, have no effective defense against Barack Obama.” It
referred to the stalling tactic that Senate Republicans frequently use
to kill Democratic bills even though they hold only 47 of the chamber’s
100 seats.
These Democrats hope Americans will see a bold and capable president
who keeps his promises when Republicans don’t create roadblocks. They
note that he green-lighted a daring nighttime raid to kill bin Laden in
Pakistan on May 1; approved policies that led to last month’s
drone-missile killing of American-born terror advocate Anwar al-Awlaki
in Yemen; backed allied actions that led to Libyan leader Qaddafi’s
ouster and death; and ended U.S. involvement in Iraq on schedule.
“It is very important for any incumbent to be able to talk about
promises made and promises kept,” Finney said. The list of
achievements, contrasted with President George W. Bush’s erroneous
claims about Iraq’s weaponry in the first place, should help Democrats
shake their image of being the weaker party on national security, she
said.
“That baggage is finally lifted,” Finney said.
Translating that claim into votes for Obama 13 months from now may be
difficult, however. The latest Associated Press-GfK poll confirmed that
Americans still place far greater emphasis on domestic issues,
especially the economy, than on foreign matters, including the war on
terrorism.
The poll found Obama’s overall approval rating at an all-time low, 46
percent, for the second straight month, even though 64 percent of
adults approved of his handling of terrorism. Only 40 percent approved
of his handling of the economy.
Ninety-three percent of those questioned said the economy was an
extremely or very important issue. By comparison, 73 percent put the
same emphasis on terrorism.
Democratic officials believe Obama’s foreign policy record will look
even better when the Republican presidential candidates hold a debate
on that topic Nov. 15. Leading contenders Mitt Romney and Rick Perry
are current or former governors, and Herman Cain has never held public
office. So none has extensive foreign policy experience.
Voters routinely accept that, however. In recent presidential elections
they have chosen governors from Georgia, California, Arkansas and
Texas, plus a first-term senator, Obama.
On Friday, Romney and Perry criticized Obama’s handling of Iraq.
“President Obama’s astonishing failure to secure an orderly transition
in Iraq has unnecessarily put at risk the victories that were won
through the blood and sacrifice of thousands of American men and
women,” Romney said. “The unavoidable question is whether this decision
is the result of a naked political calculation or simply sheer
ineptitude in negotiations with the Iraqi government.”
Perry said in a statement: “I’m deeply concerned that President Obama
is putting political expediency ahead of sound military and security
judgment by announcing an end to troop level negotiations and a
withdrawal from Iraq by year’s end.” He said Obama “was slow to engage
the Iraqis and there’s little evidence today’s decision is based on
advice from military commanders.”
Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said Obama “kept his pledge to the
nation to end the war in Iraq in a responsible way, he has promoted our
security in Afghanistan, and eliminated key Al Qaeda leaders while
strengthening American leadership around the world.” He said Romney
“didn’t lay out a plan to end the war in Iraq in his foreign policy
agenda.”
“Mitt Romney’s foreign policy experience is limited to his work as a
finance executive shipping American jobs overseas,” he said.
Long-time Republican strategist Rich Galen said the economy clearly
will dominate the 2012 election, and it might undo Obama. As for
Obama’s foreign record, however, Galen said, “they’re doing exactly the
right thing” by highlighting every success they can.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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