Foreign policy under spotlight in U.S. presidential race

Source: Xinhua | 02-29-2008 13:05

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Various opinion polls have shown that U.S. voters in this year's presidential elections clearly place economic concerns ahead of foreign policy.

U. S. Democratic presidential candidates Senator  Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Senator Barack Obama (D- IL) square off in the last debate before the Ohio  primary in Cleveland, Ohio, Feb. 26, 2008.  (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

However, most key issues of the race are related to foreign policy, such as Iraq, national security and immigration, which in fact tie-in with the economy in many ways.

As the presidential contest becomes more intense, a number of foreign policy issues are now under spotlight.

The Feb. 26 debate featuring Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois in Cleveland, Ohio, covered a fair amount of foreign policy issues.

Iraq, Afghanistan, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Russia along with other foreign affairs topics accounted for about half of the debate.

Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is building his policy platform largely on national security, which he hopes to have an edge over his Democratic opponent in the general election.

When either of the trio, Clinton, Obama and McCain, takes office in January 2009, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, terrorism and the nuclear issues of Iran and the Korean Peninsula will be weighing heavy in the new president's in-tray.

Adding to that is the all-time low image of the United States around the world.