All Politics, All the Time: Preconditions

One of the most trying elements of the presidential campaign has been John McCain's accusations that Barack Obama is willing to meet with foreign leaders without preconditions.

The accusation has a history. It dates back to the Democratic primary, when Hillary Clinton suggested that Obama lacked the foreign policy experience to deal with so-called rogue nations. She said he demonstrated a naive willingness to meet with dangerous world leaders.

The accusation was silly then. In the last few months, it's become down-right irresponsible.

At the moment, the world's impression of the United States is that WE are a rogue nation, willing to invade other countries and throw our weight around in pursuit of our own self-interest. In fact, one of the most irresponsible policies of the Bush Administration has been its own intractability when it comes to talking with the world. From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, with Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and Somalia in between, the last eight years have hardly been a demonstration of American leadership in the world. At best, we can hope that the world blames George W. Bush and not the American people for the colossal arrogance we have brought to international relations of late.

That's hardly the strongest hook on which to hang our hopes of a more peaceful and stable world. When Barack Obama says he's willing to meet with the world's leaders without preconditions, he simply means that American diplomatic channels are open, and he'd like to talk out the world's problems. It's not as if he's planning a White House slumber party with the likes of Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro (or his brother Raul, if Fidel is feeling poorly), Mahmud Ahmadinejad, Robert Mugabe, and the Janjaweed. He's saying: I have a State Department and a corp of diplomatic agents and so do you. Let's get them together and start talking.

Taking the initiative and talking out the world's problems. That's neither radical nor irresponsible. That's real leadership.

Despite Bush's efforts to the contrary, we remain the most powerful nation in the world. With power comes responsibility. And if we want to occupy the moral high ground in relations with the world, we must show ourselves to be a nation of reason and restraint, a nation with innovative ideas and a willingness to do the hard work of leading by being willing to talk.

Let the diplomacy begin.