Barack Obama traveled to the Middle East to increases the attention on Afghanistan, as he fights to turn media coverage away from Iraq. After meeting with President Hamid Karzai, he met with troops at the eastern Afghani border. The visit overseas is intended to bring Obama credibility as questions of his ability to be a war time President clouds his campaign.
In a statement release through his foreign policy advisor on Obama’s intent to pull the troops out of Iraq immediately, John McCain said, “Today, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen, the nation’s highest ranking officer, made clear that he believes such an approach could be ‘very dangerous.’ Admiral Mullen further added that his view is shared by U.S. commanders in Iraq, who are ‘adamant about continuing progress, about making decisions based on what’s actually happening in the battle space.’”
Today, Gallup reported that Obama has a 3 point edge over John McCain. Gallup’s daily tracking from July 17-19th, just prior to the start of Obama’a overseas trip, reports “Obama maintains a slight advantage over John McCain, 45% to 42%.” Neither candidate seems to be able to influence significant change in voter’s opinion despite recent roll outs of “major” policy announcements from both camps. It will be interesting to see if public opinion continues on its current trend in spite of the intense media coverage. Will voters see the trip as a campaign stunt or will it add to his foreign policy credentials? Obama’s advisers are hoping that it will show him as a leader respected world-wide. McCain’s thoughts were summed up with, “In a time of war, the commander-in-chief’s job doesn’t get a learning curve.”
