Susan Rice in the Vandenberg Room of the Michigan League

Today Dr. Susan Rice, of the Brookings Institute, a foreign policy expert and one of Senator Barack Obama’s top advisors, came to the University for the purpose of detailing why we should vote for the Senator from Illinois from a foreign policy perspective, and even more so, how irresponsible it would be for John McCain and Sarah Palin to be given an opportunity to further destruct, from the top down, our American Nation. She began by detailing how Senator Obama’s campaign utilizes the “bottom up” approach that has changed the face of politics. Here are some of my notes:

Dr. Rice spoke of how the next President of the United States will inherit an “unprecedented series of foreign messes”, that include but are certainly not limited to Iraq, Iran, Al Qaida, a growing China, a renewed Russia, Genocide in Darfur, and a climate crisis that doesn’t recognize borders. The U.S. now has a military that is overstretched, nearly to the point of breaking, and a reputation that has been tarnished by scandals (i.e. Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and the suspension of Habeas Corpus).

Simply put, the world we live in now is the “ditch that George W. Bush has driven our bus into”. Of our two choices on November 4^th, one ticket is nothing more than Bush’s cheerleaders, but the other (and the one I support!), represents a new approach, a new vision, “change”, if you will. The ticket that brought the messes of the past eight years will not be the ones to fix it.

Yet Barack Obama isn’t running to “simply clean up George Bush’s messes”(although getting back to where this country was on January 19^th, 2001 is going to be a priority), but to reshape the face of our nation, to renew that “hope” and that “American dream” for the next generation. I have no doubt that an Obama Administration will alter the face of government, just as the Obama Campaign has altered politics forever.

For Barack Obama’s full detailed plan, visit http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/ObamaBlueprintForChange.pdf

Here are some of my notes from what Dr. Susan Rice said today:

The situation was put plainly, “McCain wants to put a 20^th century square peg into a 21^st century hole. It’s not going to fit”

“We share a common security, and so we must invest in a common humanity”

Barack Obama is “calm, wise, strong, doesn’t rattle under pressure, doesn’t fly off the handle”. McCain is of the variety that would “shoot first, and ask questions later” (One who jokes about bombing Iran to the tune of an outdated Beach Boys song).

“We have a choice in the U.S., on November 4^th, a crucial choice. The rest of the world will be looking on January 20^th.” McCain is nothing more than an “affirmation of the worst of the Bush years”. Obama represents an “America that is capable of growth and change”. They will be saying, upon an Obama victory, “America is back”.

While I can’t summarize the contents of an hour’s speech in this little passage, one thing I took to heart is her closing statement:

“Don’t just vote. Michigan could well determine the fate of the election. Get out there and register voters, raise money, give money, call people, talk to people, and bring people to the polls”

I’m only a freshman, but I realize that the time is now to finish what we started. We cannot let this opportunity slip away from us. A vote for John McCain is irresponsible in the perspective of the future of American foreign policy and reputation abroad.