Obama abroad

UNITED STATES -In the realm of foreign policy, Barack Obama has been made out to be a softheaded idealist.

John McCain and his campaign, conservative columnists and right-wing bloggers all paint a picture of a liberal dreamer who wishes away the world’s dangers.

Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria disagrees.

"Over the course of the campaign … Obama has elaborated more and more the ideas that would undergird his foreign policy as president," he writes.

"What emerges is a world view that is far from that of a typical liberal, much closer to that of a traditional realist. It is interesting to note that, at least in terms of the historical schools of foreign policy, Obama seems to be the cool conservative and McCain the exuberant idealist."

In an article written by Zakaria, he adds that McCain is a pessimist about the world, "seeing it as a dark, dangerous place where, without the constant and vigorous application of American force, evil will triumph."

To Obama, "countries like Iran and North Korea are holdouts against the tide of history. America’s job is to push these progressive forces forward, using soft power more than hard, and to try to get the world’s major powers to solve the world’s major problems."

To read more, click here.

[Newsweek / Expatica]