The economic meltdown means that Barack Obama has a golden opportunity to deliver a knockout blow to John McCain -- on foreign policy. Right at the outset of his debate with McCain Friday, Obama should go on the offense. He needs to point out the obvious: by bankrupting the American economy, the Bush administration has also crippled our foreign policy might. The United States is a weary titan -- debt-ridden, not simply because of the Bush tax cuts, but also because of a profligate war abroad whose ultimate cost will run in the trillions. The Bush administration has weakened, not strengthened, the U.S. -- and McCain's militant approach would only compound the damage.
The current economic meltdown, then, is the rusty nail in the coffin of the neocon desire for an American empire. McCain's grandiose vision of a bellicose United States that can dictate to the rest of the world is a pipe dream. So is his economic plan calling for radical tax cuts. Obama should point out the ludicrousness of taking on further military commitments abroad, when the U.S. economy is imploding. McCain isn't a foreign policy expert; he's an innocent at home, clinging to the delusional belief that America remains as powerful as ever. McCain's approach to foreign affairs, you could say, is as bankrupt as Wall Street itself.