Indiana is blessed with two really good Senators, Richard Lugar (Republican) and Evan Bayh (Democrat). Both show much wisdom and independent thinking regarding foreign policy. Evan Bayh would make a strong candidate for president if he could win his party’s nomination, which he can’t, because he’s too conservative to survive the primaries. He tested the waters last fall and decided no.
I like what he says in the January 15, 2007, issue of The New Yorker, in an article that mostly looks at the foreign policy views of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards. Bayh says:
“You just hope that we haven’t soured an entire generation on the necessity, from time to time, of using force because Iraq has been such a debacle. That would be tragic, because Iran is a grave threat. They’re everything we thought Iraq was but wasn’t. They are seeking nuclear weapons, they do support terrorists, they have threatened to destroy Israel, and they’ve threatened us, too….There are those kinds of tough steps that occasionally involve the use of force. Lots of Americans wonder whether we Democrats have that in us.”
The section about Hillary Clinton was impressive; her foreign policy knowledge is quite deep, and she has no trouble saying “I don’t know.” The Obama section seemed so-so. And then I was impressed with what John Edwards had to say. His basic view on Iraq is that it’s time to leave. He says:
“My view of Darfur is, we’ve done nothing but yap. We–as a lot of American families can tell you–we’ve done a lot more than talk in Iraq. And I think you just reach a place where you have to say, ‘We’ve done our part, and now it’s time for them to step up to the plate.’ You can’t police places forever.”
While the other Democrats cite counterterrorism as a top priority, Edwards emphasizes universal health care, ending poverty, and combatting global warming. I really like that. His heart is where my heart is. But I wish he had more high-level government experience, and I don’t think he can get his party’s nomination. Plus, uh, I’m supposed to be a Republican. I keep forgetting that.
