Obama and Edwards compared

I've praised the foreign policy speeches and (apparent) inclinations of both Obama and Edwards in recent weeks, and I've made no secret of my affection for their policies and their staffers. (And I should note that my lack of commentary about Senator Clinton is more because Edwards and Obama have done major addresses on foreign policy -- both speeches and articles -- rather than any specific disapproval of Clinton; there will be plenty of commentary on her to come, I'm sure.)

Some readers have emailed me asking for an analysis of the difference between the Obama and Edwards positions on foreign policy, but honestly there's not a lot of space between the two, so far as I can tell -- especially now that Obama is in the "no funding without a timeline" camp.

This diary does an excellent job of comparing Obama with Edwards, starting out trying to draw distinctions and ultimately finding mostly similarities. They each "outline a foreign policy that seeks to change the fundamental conditions that spawn terrorism, and emphasize America's soft power at least as much (if not more than) our military capabilities," and I agree that "The similarity of these potential policies is a good sign; hopefully, it indicates that [either one would bring] a major shift in emphasis for American foreign policy, one that would go after some the basic reasons for terrorism (poverty, lack of education, lack of hope) instead of propagating the idea that only by military force can we make the country more safe."

If and when real divisions open up, I'll be watching for them, but for the moment it's nice to have two (and perhaps three?) leading candidates who really do get it on foreign policy. I sometimes think I don't give Democratic candidates enough credit for their attention and skill regarding international issues; it's important to remember that there are plenty of people -- more than a few of them running for president under the Republican banner -- who hold absolutely crazy views on foreign policy. It's nice to not have that problem with leading Dems.