DENVER -- Here at the Democratic Convention, there are two conversations going on. One is about the Clintons and their supporters: Did Bill really insist that his speech be about the economy and his legacy instead of national security? What stage of the grieving process are Hillary's supporters at? And will that process be complete before or after Nov. 4?
The other conversation is about Joe Biden: "He'll really have Barack's back." "The labor unions are giddy about the choice." "He's a foreign policy homerun." But all foreign policy experience is not created equal.
Of course, the pick adds foreign-policy heft to the ticket. Three decades on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including a pair of stints as chairman, will do that. But Biden's value to an Obama administration in this crucial arena extends well beyond time served.
The past seven-plus years have shown us that "foreign policy experience," in and of itself, isn't all it's cracked up to be. For Exhibit A, look no further than George Bush's most "experienced" foreign policy advisor: Dick Cheney. How's that working out? And Don Rumsfeld had spent lots of time on foreign policy practice field too.
What's great
about the Biden pick isn't just that he has "foreign policy expertise," it's the kind of expertise he has, how he uses it, and how useful his expertise is for the unique challenges we currently face around the world. His approach favors diplomacy and engagement -- backed up by a toughness that allowed him to confront Milosevic face-to-face.
Contrast that with the approach of John McCain, who also has "foreign policy experience": Judging by his track record, McCain's experience has apparently taught him that pretty much every problem in the world has a military solution.
Back in 2000, during a GOP debate, McCain was asked by Larry King, "What area of American international policy would you change immediately as president?"
McCain's reply? "I'd institute a policy that I call 'rogue state rollback.' I would arm, train, equip, both from without and from within, forces that would eventually overthrow the governments and install free and democratically elected governments. . . . As long as Saddam Hussein is in power, I am convinced that he will pose a threat to our security."
In other words, he was a believer in democracy at the end of a loaded gun even before Bush was.
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