Obama Blasts Both Rivals Over Iraq Positions

New administration will need to fix problems Bush has not addressed

(NEWSER) - Taking the attitude that "since we were now all-powerful, allies were no longer necessary," President Bush damaged the US' image and diminished its power, Fred Kaplan writes in Slate. How can the next president heal our diplomatic woes?

1. Visit all Middle East countries; leave a full-time envoy: "It is appalling that President Bush made his first trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories in his final year."

Voters worry about age more than race or gender, survey finds

(NEWSER) - GOP contender John McCain would lose to either Democratic candidate if the match-up were held today, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Adults nationwide would choose Barack Obama over McCain by 12 percentage points; Hillary Clinton would beat the Republican by six points. Though McCain has eight months to gain ground, he appears to be a hard sell to many independent and moderate voters. More»

Each delivers 'news' to the other about al-Qaeda presence

(NEWSER) - John McCain and Barack Obama traded sharp words today, as the two presidential frontrunners bludgeoned each other over the Iraq war. McCain dug into Obama for saying, in the debate last night, that he wouldn't hesitate to act if al-Qaeda established bases in Iraq for targeting the US, Reuters reports. "I have some news," McCain told a Texas crowd. "Al-Qaeda is in Iraq. It's called Al-Qaeda in Iraq." More»

Candidates have complicated ideas on American power

(NEWSER) - For the presidential candidates, divergent experiences in Asia—John McCain's time in a Vietnam prison, Barack Obama's childhood years in Indonesia—gave rise to opposing views of American power. Yet the nominees' foreign policy stances have often blurred during the campaign, with Obama appearing more hawkish and McCain more diplomatic, according to the New York Times. More»

Candidate makes position crystal clear

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama will promise a swift end to the Iraq war in a major speech today, arguing that the ongoing conflict “distracts us from every threat that we face,” according to excerpts obtained by Politico. As president, Obama would take the fight to al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. “The central front in the war on terror is not Iraq,” he says, “and it never was.” More»