If we need confirmation that Senator Vandenberg's famous statement
"politics stops at the water's edge" is applying less in the
post-Cold War era, Presidents Obama and Medvedev and Mitt Romney provided it
for us this week. The open mic moment where President Obama suggested the
possibility of a future deal on missile defense with Russia caught the
attention of candidate Romney, who criticized the President’s warmness to a
country he considers “our number one geopolitical foe” on CNN. Medvedev even entered the fray today,
implying that Romney spoke like a candidate from the 1970’s.
The incident highlights the two divergent worldviews offered
by the Republican and Democratic camps and provides an insight into the foreign
policy debates we are likely to hear in the general election. President Obama will portray himself as
the savvy diplomat—an American that understands the subtleties of modern
international politics and commands the respect of foreign leaders. The Conservative camp will likely
criticize what they view as President Obama’s capitulation on American
values—such as a strong missile defense program.
If we can take one ray of hope from this incident, it might
be Speaker Boehner’s reaction. He
argued that Republicans shouldn’t be too critical of what the President says in
a closed-door negotiation overseas. Perhaps Vandenberg lives on after all.
I thought this was a very interesting episode. I think there is a nostalgic desire on the part of many to return to a period where politics stops at the water’s edge and the U.S. operates with a single foreign policy (particularly while fighting a war). In reality, however, I believe that era is over. As seen during the debate over the Iraq War, and the partisan battles of the direction and funding over the war, politicians and parties are no longer compelled to unilaterally support the President’s foreign policy. I think Speaker Boehner’s reaction was an anomaly, and during the run up to November’s election there won’t be a shortage of political and policy attacks on President Obama’s foreign policy.
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