Author Archives: Karen Stasevich

I was listening to BBC World Service as I was driving home tonight. The topic of talk was U.S. Foreign Policy, George W. Bush and the upcoming election. I wish I could remember the name of the British analyst I was listening to, but the name escapes me at the moment. I’ll try to find the link when it’s not so long passed my bedtime.

What I got out of the short, but insightful, segment was that the international community (Great Britain especially in this case) views the current President’s foreign policy as a continuation of a very predictable and long legacy in American foreign politics. The analyst said that Bush was not exactly bad for the U.S. because he merely continued the policies (and policy mistakes) that have been typical in our nation’s history. Bush’s reaction to 9/11, Afghanistan, and Iraq were not anomalies and the international community was not taken by surprise. However, Bush has become the whipping boy of foreign diplomacy for both his constituents and the nations of the world. This is because he is the embodiment of everything that has gnawed at the patience of foreign leaders and peoples throughout the United States’ existence.

I’m always a little torn when it comes to weighing in on how much blame the President really deserves for the screw ups of the last eight years. From an international standpoint, I can see why Bush’s actions seem typical of U.S. policy, and why his blunders are not much different than those prior to his administration. What I am certain that I can blame on President Bush is the fact that he has made mistakes that should have been avoided through maturation of U.S. foreign policy, that someone else had to be better for the presidency. With regards to trade, war, cultural understanding and a whole slew of issues, Bush has failed learn from the mistakes of others before him and instead has repeated them all in many ways.

The last part of the segment talked about whether either ’08 candidate, McCain or Obama, would be able to depart from what the international community sees as a tradition of bad U.S. foreign policy once in office. The concern was that even though both candidates strive to distance themselves from the Bush-style politics, they would fall victim to the same fate as liberal and conservative administrations before them, continuing the “pattern” of typical U.S. policies.

While I am certain that a McCain presidency would ensure repeated bad foreign policy, I sincerely believe that Senator Obama is the best chance for real change our country has seen in many an election cycle. If ever there was a time that America was tired of the type of politicians which George Bush personifies, it is now. If ever there was a leader in America that diverged from the past and current trend of Washington politicians, it is Senator Obama. I look forward to one year from now, living the promise that change holds for our country.