Quotes by Candidate:
Senator Joe Biden:
Biden, Des Moines Register op-ed: November 17, 2007 - Link
This could be the most important presidential election of our lifetimes. In this critical moment lies a tremendous opportunity: The next president will have a chance to change the direction of our country and the world.
Senator Hillary Clinton:
Clinton, Speech at George Washington University: February 25, 2008 - Link
The next president will inherit all of these global challenges and more from a president who failed to handle them well. A war in Afghanistan and a war in Iraq. America’s reputation at an all-time low. Countries rushing to acquire nuclear weapons. Crushing poverty that stymies economic and political progress in too many regions of the world. Global warming and global health pandemics. Genocide in Darfur. A rise of borderless, stateless criminal cartels. And the continuing real threat of terrorism here at home and abroad.
Clinton, Foreign Affairs article: November/December 2007 - Link
We should aim to lead our friends and allies in building a world of security and opportunity. America has long been the land of opportunity. But as we know at home and as we see today in Iraq and Afghanistan, opportunity cannot flourish without basic security. We must build a world in which security and opportunity go hand in hand, a world that will be safer, more prosperous, and more just.
Clinton, Foreign Affairs article: November/December 2007 - Link
The values that our founders embraced as universal have shaped the aspirations of millions of people around the world and are the deepest source of our strength -- but only as long as we live up to them ourselves. As we seek to promote the rule of law in other nations, we must accept it ourselves. As we counsel liberty and justice for all, we cannot support torture and the indefinite detention of individuals we have declared to be beyond the law.
Clinton, Democratic Debate in Las Vegas: November 15, 2007 - Link
We've got to have enforceable labor and environmental standards. We've got the WTO that enforces financial and corporate rights. We need the International Labor Organization and other mechanisms that will be there to enforce labor rights and environmental rights.
Clinton, AFL-CIO Debate Chicago: August 7, 2007 - Link
I believe in smart trade. I've said that for years. Pro- American trade; trade that has labor and environmental standards; that's not a race to the bottom, but tries to lift up not only American workers but also workers around the world.
Clinton, Speech in Des Moines Temple for Performing Arts: July 10, 2007 - Link
As President, I will organize a multi-billion dollar international effort -- funded by a wide range of donor states -- under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Through this initiative, the Commissioner for Refugees will direct aid to build infrastructure and create a social safety net in Jordan, Syria and other countries that have taken in refugees. This money will go to schools, hospitals and housing -- along with initiatives to create jobs and promote economic development. At the same time, the Commissioner for Refugees will be empowered to address the needs of Iraqis who have been displaced from their homes by the violence, but remain inside their country. These efforts will confront the challenges posed by large-scale refugee camps in Jordan, which could destabilize that country and the region.
Senator Chris Dodd:
Dodd, Press Release August 24, 2007 - Link
In fact, debating over military tactics when there is no military solution only undermines efforts by those of us who believe that we must change course in Iraq now and begin to immediately redeploy US combat forces so that Iraqi leaders will have the impetus to find a political accord.
Dodd, AFL-CIO Debate Chicago: August 7, 2007 - Link
I agree [NAFTA] requires modification, but we also need to do something else here. In addition to having trading agreements that include labor, environmental health provisions in them and insisting upon those provisions in any trading agreement here, we need to stop exporting the jobs in the country that already are here.
Senator John Edwards:
Edwards, NPR Debate: December 4, 2007 - Link
But as to the Muslim community, I think that the most important thing for America to do is to demonstrate that we have a responsibility, not just to ourselves, but to humanity, and to help make education available, to fight global poverty. We need to take serious steps to demonstrate that America is actually worthy of leadership.
Edwards, NPR Debate: December 4, 2007 - Link
The Edwards doctrine will be longer-term , visionary; not the kind of ad hoc foreign policy -- foreign policy of convenience that we’ve seen over the last seven years, but instead, looking at not only the short-term issues that American and the world faces -- I’ve talked about Iran; Pakistan; what’s happening with North Korea; we’re about to talk about China -- but also to think about what is it that America does over the long-term to strengthen not only our leadership role, but our ability to provide stability.
Edwards, Speech for Veterans Day, November 11, 2007 - Link
The second thing we need to do restore America’s moral leadership around the world, which starts with ending the war in Iraq. We need a new path to stop terrorism that brings nations together in a counter-terrorism alliance - we become stronger and safer, not weaker, when we work with the world. And, we need to stand up, together, and tell this Congress that we elected them to end the war in Iraq and bring our brave men and women home.
Edwards, Article in Foreign Affairs: Sept/Oct 2007 - Link
We need a new path, one that will lead to reengagement with the world and restoration of the United States' moral authority in the community of nations.
Edwards, Article in Foreign Affairs: Sept/Oct 2007 - Link
We need to refocus our national security policy on the mission of protecting Americans from twenty-first-century threats rather than pursuing discredited ideological agendas. What we need is not more slogans but a comprehensive strategy to respond to terrorism and prevent it from taking root in the first place. This strategy should transcend the familiar divide between "hard power" and "soft power." Instead, we need to place "smart power" at the center of our national security policy.
Edwards MTV debate: September 27, 2007 - Link
We have a whole generation of young people in the world. In the Muslim world. Who right now are sitting on the fence and On one side is Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, and on the other side is America. And the question is which way will they go. That depends on us. If we are arrogant, selfish, only interested in the expansion of American power, we will drive them in the other direction. If on the other hand they see America as a country that’s actually trying to help people, trying to create hope in the world. IT will pull them to us like a magnet. America needs to be that magnet, America needs to be the light again. And that’s what we can be, and I will do everything in my power as president to get us there.
Edwards, Speech at Pace University: September 7, 2007 - Link
Instead of Cold War institutions designed to win traditional wars and protect traditional borders, we need new institutions designed to share intelligence, cooperate across borders, and take out small, hostile groups. Instead of a foreign policy of convenience that readily does business with whoever is available and regularly turns a blind eye when our allies behave wrongly or fail to cooperate, we need a new foreign policy of conviction that requires cooperation in exchange for our support, whether it's arms sales, trade, or foreign aid.
Edwards, Speech at Pace University: September 7, 2007 - Link
Instead of an exclusively short-term focus on the enemy we know, we need a long-term strategy to win the minds of those who are not yet our enemies, by offering education, democracy, and opportunity in place of radicalism, hatred and fear. Most of all, instead of a reckless, solo pursuit of an ideological agenda that abandons our moral authority and disregards our allies, we need to reengage with the world and reassert our moral leadership.
Edwards, Speech at Pace University: September 7, 2007 - Link
Now more than ever, the world is ready for a new direction from America. The world is ready to work together against terrorism. But right now, the community of nations lacks any global institution to coordinate counter-terrorist intelligence and security operations. The international institutions of the last century were designed for World War II and the Cold War. Institutions like the United Nations, NATO, and Interpol have taken steps to adapt to the twenty-first century challenge of terrorism, and they serve valuable purposes. And they remain essential to fulfilling our interests. But they cannot be the complete and final answer to shutting down global terrorism.
Edwards, Speech at Pace University: September 7, 2007 - Link
We need a bold new approach—one that is smart, tough, and targeted. This will require us to look beyond the structures of World War II and the Cold War to new tools that will allow us to target terrorism more precisely. It will require sustained U.S. leadership—but the kind that leverages the power of partnerships, rather than going it alone. It will mean raising the level of cooperation between law enforcement and intelligence agencies—while preserving civil liberties and the rule of law.
Edwards, Speech at Pace University: September 7, 2007 - Link
We saw the promise of a new multilateral approach just a couple of days ago in Germany. The terrorists the German authorities caught were plotting massive attacks on American interests. They had been trained in Pakistan, had a network in Turkey, and were captured through German and American intelligence. We must be able to coordinate similar operations throughout the world—in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and anywhere terrorists would attack.
Edwards, Speech at Pace University: September 7, 2007 - Link
Terrorists also take advantage when states don't do enough to stop them. We ought to use our tremendous tools—whether diplomacy, arms sales, trade, or foreign aid—to get states to shut down terrorism.
Edwards, on Face the Nation: August 26 2007 - Link
I mean, everyone knows that at the end of the day, as the Iraq Study Group has said and most of us have said at this point, there can be no military solution in Iraq. There has to be a political solution.
Edwards, Speech on Trade Policy: August 6, 2007 - Link
NAFTA was written by insiders in all three countries, and it served their interests - not the interests of regular workers. It included unprecedented rights for corporate investors, but no labor or environmental protections in its core text. And over the past 15 years, we have seen growing income inequality in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Well enough is enough. Americans have paid the price long enough. We need to change our fundamental approach to trade. We need to make American values the foundation of our trade deals, and we need to put workers back at their core.
Edwards, Speech on Trade Policy in Iowa: August 6, 2007 - Link
As president, I will seek to restore America's moral leadership of the world, and our trade policies with these countries can help. But we are going to be tough in our negotiations because the overriding obligation of the president of the United States is to put America's workers, economy and national interests first.
Edwards, Speech at the Council on Foreign Relations: May 23, 2007 - Link
In all of these missions, we must continue to strengthen our great partnerships—whether bilateral relationships with friends from Great Britain to Israel to Japan, or through institutions like NATO, which have done so much good for America and the world. While the U.S. does not need permission to protect its interests, we must realize that our strength lies in standing together with the world, not apart.
Senator Mike Gravel:
Gravel, Democratic Debate at Howard University: June 28, 2007 - Link
No, outsourcing is not the problem. What is the problem is our trade agreements that we have that benefit the management and, of course, the shareholders, and have neglected on either side of the issue, whether it’s in Mexico or in other countries or the United States. That’s the problem that must be addressed.
Rudy Giuliani:
Giuliani, Opinion Journal Editorial: June 30, 2007 - Link
When I say reform I don't have great expectations that the U.N. is going to live up to its original commitment to promote a freedom for people and peace. But I do think that they can carry out their lesser commitments better--the humanitarian mission with less corruption. And we should discipline them to do that.
Governor Mike Huckabee:
Huckabee, Foreign Affairs Article: January/February 2008 - Link
American foreign policy needs to change its tone and attitude, open up, and reach out. The Bush administration's arrogant bunker mentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad. My administration will recognize that the United States' main fight today does not pit us against the world but pits the world against the terrorists.
Huckabee, Foreign Affairs Article: January/February 2008 - Link
I will assure the Pakistanis that we are with them for the long haul. When the Russians left Afghanistan in the late 1980s, we quickly lost interest in Pakistan. Many Pakistanis fear the same will happen when al Qaeda and the Taliban are no longer around to keep us engaged. They should not. Pakistan, like Iraq, is a regional problem rather than an isolated one. We must use our friendly ties with India to encourage and help it improve its relationship with Pakistan and to push for increased trade and cooperation between the two countries, all to bring greater stability to the South Asian region.
Huckabee Speech at CSIS: September 28, 2007 - Link
I know that’s an oversimplification, but I do believe that it explains, somewhat, of the situation that we face as a nation, in that our prestige in the world has been marred not so much because we’re a superpower. We are; we shouldn’t apologize for it, nor should we weaken ourselves in any capacity. But the matter in which we handle our power is critical. And the more that we can do not to weaken ourselves, but to strengthen our neighbors, and to give them encouragement, rather than simply to show them our muscle, is an important part of rebuilding America’s national prestige.
Huckabee, Quotation from Website: 2007 - Link
I believe that globalization, done right, done fairly, can be a blessing for our society. As the Industrial Revolution raised living standards by allowing ordinary people to buy mass-produced goods that previously only the rich could afford, so globalization gives all of us the equivalent of a big pay raise by letting us buy all kinds of things from clothing to computers to TVs much more inexpensively.
Representative Dennis Kucinich:
Kucinich, AFL-CIO Debate Chicago: August 7, 2007 - Link
In my first week in office, I will notify Mexico and Canada that the United States is withdrawing from NAFTA. I will notify the WTO we're withdrawing from the WTO.
Senator John McCain:
McCain, Remarks To The Los Angeles World Affairs Council: March 26, 2008 - Link
To meet this challenge requires understanding the world we live in, and the central role the United States must play in shaping it for the future. The United States must lead in the 21st century, just as in Truman's day. But leadership today means something different than it did in the years after World War II, when Europe and the other democracies were still recovering from the devastation of war and the United States was the only democratic superpower. Today we are not alone. There is the powerful collective voice of the European Union, and there are the great nations of India and Japan, Australia and Brazil, South Korea and South Africa, Turkey and Israel, to name just a few of the leading democracies. There are also the increasingly powerful nations of China and Russia that wield great influence in the international system.
McCain, Remarks To The Los Angeles World Affairs Council: March 26, 2008 - Link
In such a world, where power of all kinds is more widely and evenly distributed, the United States cannot lead by virtue of its power alone. We must be strong politically, economically, and militarily. But we must also lead by attracting others to our cause, by demonstrating once again the virtues of freedom and democracy, by defending the rules of international civilized society and by creating the new international institutions necessary to advance the peace and freedoms we cherish. Perhaps above all, leadership in today's world means accepting and fulfilling our responsibilities as a great nation.
McCain, Remarks To The Los Angeles World Affairs Council: March 26, 2008 - Link
At the heart of this new compact must be mutual respect and trust. Recall the words of our founders in the Declaration of Independence, that we pay "decent respect to the opinions of mankind." Our great power does not mean we can do whatever we want whenever we want, nor should we assume we have all the wisdom and knowledge necessary to succeed. We need to listen to the views and respect the collective will of our democratic allies. When we believe international action is necessary, whether military, economic, or diplomatic, we will try to persuade our friends that we are right. But we, in return, must be willing to be persuaded by them.
McCain, Remarks To The Los Angeles World Affairs Council: March 26, 2008 - Link
America must be a model citizen if we want others to look to us as a model. How we behave at home affects how we are perceived abroad. We must fight the terrorists and at the same time defend the rights that are the foundation of our society. We can't torture or treat inhumanely suspected terrorists we have captured. I believe we should close Guantanamo and work with our allies to forge a new international understanding on the disposition of dangerous detainees under our control.
McCain, Remarks To The Los Angeles World Affairs Council: March 26, 2008 - Link
Relations with our southern neighbors must be governed by mutual respect, not by an imperial impulse or by anti-American demagoguery. The promise of North, Central, and South American life is too great for that. I believe the Americas can and must be the model for a new 21st century relationship between North and South. Ours can be the first completely democratic hemisphere, where trade is free across all borders, where the rule of law and the power of free markets advance the security and prosperity of all.
McCain, Op-Ed in the Financial Times: March 18, 2008 - Link
But the key word is “together”. We need to renew and revitalize our democratic solidarity. We need to strengthen our transatlantic alliance as the core of a new global compact – a League of Democracies – that can harness the great power of the more than 100 democratic nations around the world to advance our values and defend our shared interests.
McCain, Op-Ed in the Financial Times: March 18, 2008 - Link
We need to listen to the views and respect the collective will of our democratic allies. When we believe that international action is necessary, whether military, economic or diplomatic, we will try to persuade our friends that we are right. But we, in return, must also be willing to be persuaded by them.
McCain, Op-Ed in the Financial Times: March 18, 2008 - Link
We all have to live up to our own high standards of morality and international responsibility. We will fight the terrorists and at the same time defend the rights that are the foundations of our societies. We cannot torture or treat inhumanely the suspected terrorists that we have captured. We must close the detention facility at Guantá¬namo and come to a common international understanding on the disposition of dangerous detainees under our control.
McCain, Op-Ed in the Financial Times: March 18, 2008 - Link
The bottom line is that none of us can act as if our only concerns are within our own borders. We cannot define our national interests so narrowly that we fail to see how intimately our fate is bound up with that of the rest of humanity. There is such a thing as good international citizenship. If we wish to be models for others, we must be model citizens ourselves.
McCain, Op-Ed in the Financial Times: March 18, 2008 - Link
Certainly the US must be that model country. Leadership today means something different than it did in the years after the second world war, when Europe and the other democracies were recovering from the devastation of war and the US was the only democratic superpower. Today, there is the powerful collective voice of the EU, India, Japan, Australia, Brazil, South Korea, South Africa, Turkey and Israel, to name just a few of the leading democracies. And there are the struggling young democracies, such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon, that need and deserve help – more, in fact, than we have been giving. In Russia, democracy has been temporarily suppressed, but we all have an interest in seeing this great nation return to the democratic path soon. This is not idealism. It is the truest form of realism. It is the democracies of the world that will provide the pillars upon which we can and must build an enduring peace.
McCain, Republican Debate: January 24, 2008 - Link
And all we are saying is, look, you can reduce your greenhouse gas emissions; you earn a credit. Somebody else is going to increase theirs; you can sell it to them. And meanwhile we have a gradual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. We need a global agreement, but it has to include India and China. We need to go back to nuclear power. We cannot be dependent on $400 billion a year paying for foreign oil. There's a nexus here.
McCain, Foreign Affairs article: November/December 2007 - Link
But we should continue to promote free trade, as it is vital to American prosperity. Americans will thrive in a world of economic freedom because our products and services remain the best and because our country draws strength from the forces shaping the new global economy, ranging from inflows of foreign investment to new businesses created by highly skilled immigrants. Americans can be confident that a world of economic and political freedom will sustain our global leadership by promoting our values and enhancing our prosperity. To unite us with friends and allies in a common prosperity, as president I will aggressively promote global trade liberalization at the World Trade Organization and expand America's free-trade agreements to friendly nations on every continent.
McCain, Foreign Affairs article: November/December 2007 - Link
As president, I will employ every economic, diplomatic, political, legal, and ideological tool at our disposal to aid moderate Muslims -- women's rights campaigners, labor leaders, lawyers, journalists, teachers, tolerant imams, and many others -- who are resisting the well-financed campaign of extremism that is tearing Muslim societies apart.
McCain, YouTube Debate: November 28, 2007 - Link
Well, I'd do a lot of things, but the first and most important and vital element is to continue this surge, which is succeeding, and we are winning the war in Iraq. That's the first thing I would do. And I would make sure that we do what we can to help reconstruct the country, to help the Maliki government move forward as rapidly as possible to train the police. But I'll tell you one other thing where (sic) I'm going to do, is we're going to fight back the Democrats' efforts to set a date for withdrawal, which is a date for surrender.
McCain, Conference on Bio Economy in Ames, IA November 5, 2007 - Link
There is no economic force on this globe that is stronger than free people. Entrepreneurs lie at the heart of innovation, growth, and advancing prosperity. Entrepreneurs should not be shackled by excessive regulation that raises the cost of business. Entrepreneurs should not be disadvantaged by earmarking and pork-barrel spending that favors politically connected competitors.
McCain, Conference on Bio Economy in Ames, IA November 5, 2007 - Link
Our future prosperity depends on our competitiveness. Globalization is here and globalization is an opportunity not a threat. The American farmer is the most productive and innovative farmer on the planet and can compete with anyone. Period. But farmers can't compete if they can't get into the game. My friends, 95 percent of the world's customers live outside the borders of the United States. While my Democratic opponents play politics with trade -- using words like a trade "time out" to disguise their protectionism -- I don't intend to sit out opportunities and challenges of the world's economy. I intend to seize those opportunities to ensure, as every American generation has done, that our children's lives will be even more prosperous than were ours.
McCain, Conference on Bio Economy in Ames, IA November 5, 2007 - Link
I'm pleased to be here and grateful for this opportunity to share with you my views about the importance of Iowa to our economy and how I believe Iowa's economy is well situated to take advantage of increases in the global trade of goods and services. I've enjoyed getting better acquainted with Iowa this year, and I've learned a lot. I've learned that while Iowa takes great pride in its tradition of family farming, it also has a large manufacturing base, and ranks in the top ten of our fastest growing export states. That's an encouraging statistic for Iowa because, irrespective of the sporadic rise of protectionist sentiment in this country, opening new markets for American goods and services is indispensable to our future prosperity, and those states best prepared to seize the opportunities of the global economy will prosper most. My friends, we can compete with anyone. You wouldn't know that by listening to the protectionists. They think we're licked. They think we should hide behind walls, and hope we have enough left to live on while the world passes us by. That's not leadership, and that's not American.
McCain, Speech to the Des Moines Embassy Club: October 24, 2007.
NATO could forge or expand new security ties with these countries. A Mediterranean economic and political community could help put North African and Levant nations on a fast-track to closer engagement with the West in ways that stabilize the broader region and provide a model for their neighbors. Europe is worried about the problems posed by immigration from this region; the best solution is creating new opportunities within those countries in education and economics. People do not emigrate when they see a bright future for themselves at home. While there have been the beginnings of efforts from NATO, the G8 and the EU, I believe we need to go further with a far greater sense of urgency.
McCain, Speech to the Des Moines Embassy Club: October 24, 2007.
New roles for the EU and NATO in the Mediterranean highlight the importance of increasing our allies' stake in securing a new Middle East.
McCain, Speech to the Des Moines Embassy Club: October 24, 2007.
With our allies, America should lead in the creation of a Middle East free trade area tying the region's economies to each other, to the West, and to the dynamic economies of Asia. As we have seen in Lebanon, the expansion of a middle class, nurtured by growing economies, will inevitably create pressures for political reform within autocratic states. It is past time for all people in the region to enjoy the fruits of economic modernity that have transformed Asia, for instance, beyond recognition.
McCain, Press Release: October 9, 2007 - Link
The steady march toward more open global trade has been a critical part of the economic miracle that is the American economy. When I'm President I will relentlessly pursue trade agreements that will open markets all over the world for American businesses and workers and benefit consumers."
McCain, Speech to the Hudson Institute: September 27, 2007 - Link
To better coordinate our disparate efforts, I would ask Congress for a civilian follow-on to the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act which fostered a culture of joint operations within the separate military services. Today we need similar legislation to ensure that civil servants and soldiers train and work together in peacetime so that they can cooperate effectively in wartime and in postwar reconstruction.
McCain, Speech to the Hudson Institute: September 27, 2007 - Link
We also need to develop a deployable police presence to, when necessary, help maintain law and order where it is lacking, and to train foreign police forces to counter Islamic extremism and other threats. In the end, dollars, experts, and police must work together to address the interrelated issues of political freedom, good governance, and economic development.
McCain, Speech to the Florida Association of Broadcasters: June 20, 2007 - Link
We need to build on the passage of the Central America Free Trade Agreement by expanding U.S. trade with the region. Let's start by ratifying the trade agreements with Panama, Peru, and Colombia that are already completed, and pushing forward the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Too many Democrats have embraced economic isolationism, paying off special interests by opposing trade agreements with our democratic neighbors. They could not be more wrong. My administration would reduce barriers to trade and press for renewed Trade Promotion Authority.
McCain, Speech at the Hoover Institution: May 1, 2007 - Link
The new League of Democracies would form the core of an international order of peace based on freedom. It could act where the UN fails to act, to relieve human suffering in places like Darfur. It could join to fight the AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa and fashion better policies to confront the crisis of our environment. It could provide unimpeded market access to those who share the values of economic and political freedom, an advantage no state-based system could attain. It could bring concerted pressure to bear on tyrants in Burma or Zimbabwe, with or without Moscow's and Beijing's approval. It could unite to impose sanctions on Iran and thwart its nuclear ambitions. It could provide support to struggling democracies in Ukraine and Serbia and help countries like Thailand back on the path to democracy.
Senator Barack Obama:
Obama, NPR Debate: December 4, 2007 - Link
Well, I think one of the things about the Obama doctrine is it’s not going to be as doctrinaire as the Bush doctrine, because the world is complicated. And I think part of the problem we’ve had is that ideology has overridden facts and reality. But I think the basic concept, and I’ve heard it from some of the other folks, is that increasingly we have to view our security in terms of a common security and a common prosperity with other peoples and other countries. And that means that if there are children in the Middle East who cannot read, that is a potential long-term danger to us. If China is polluting, then eventually that is going to reach our shores. We have to work with them cooperatively to solve their problems as well as ours.
Obama, Forum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire: November 26, 2007 - Link
I don’t think that there is any doubt that if a country is participating actively in the world economic order that they then have a greater stake in maintaining that order, and that means they are more likely to resolve conflicts diplomatically.
Obama, Forum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire: November 26, 2007 - Link
It seems to me that the next president of the United States has to understand that economic policy is central to our national security and that we want to encourage the kinds of continuing interdependence within the global community that will enhance cooperation, and create more cross border transactions, interactions and relationships- all of which will settle and resolve conflicts.
Obama, Forum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire: November 26, 2007 - Link
Countries that successfully compete economically will end up also being able to protect themselves and will be militarily strong…Countries that try to hang on to their status simply militarily are in for a fall...There's a homeland security element of making sure we're training our scientist and engineers, revamping our school systems and making sure our entire workforce adapts to a new economy, and that's something we haven't heard from this administration.
Obama, Forum in Portsmouth New Hampshire: November 26, 2007 - Link
Part of the task of the next president… is to make the American people understand that global interdependence is here to stay, it’s is not going away. Global trade is not going away, technology is not going away, the internet is not going away. And that means enormous opportunities, but also means more dislocations, more threats and the requirement that the American people be constantly that much more adaptable.
Obama, Forum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire: November 26, 2007 - Link
We have to understand that how successful the United Nations is is largely a function of what we put into it and what other powerful countries put into it. And if we disempower it, it is not going to be particularly effective. If we decide that we want to use it as a critical form to advance not only our national interests but the broader interests of the globe then it will be more effective.
Obama, Forum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire: November 26, 2007 - Link
I think the American people are much more mindful than what our government gives them credit for, for understanding that our world is changing, the world is shrinking. They know it, they know it is important…I always get the biggest applause, no matter where I am, when I start to talk about restoring America’s standing in the world. They are upset that the world doesn’t regard America the same way they did 10, 15 years ago.
Obama, Forum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire: November 26, 2007 - Link
The hard part (about Darfur) is assembling the peacekeeping force. Step one is getting the troops committed, and the second part is we got to get Khartoum to accept these troops, and that needs a heavy diplomatic lift, and is something that we have not been sufficiently attentive to.
Obama, A Change We Can Believe In Speech: November 3, 2007 - Link
When I am President, I will end this war in Iraq. I will bring our troops home within sixteen months. I'll finish the fight against al Qaeda in Afghanistan. And I will lead the world against the common threats of the 21st century - nuclear weapons and terrorism; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. That's what Democrats must stand for, and that's what America must stand for. And I'll be a President who finally sends a message to the black, white, and brown faces beyond our shores; from the halls of power to the huts of Africa that says, "You matter to America. Your future is our future. And our moment is now."
Obama, Speech in Iowa City: October 3, 2007 - Link
We cannot win a fight for hearts and minds when we outsource critical missions to unaccountable contractors. To add insult to injury, these contractors are charging taxpayers up to nine times more to do the same jobs as soldiers, a disparity that damages troop morale.
Obama, Speech at DePaul University: October 2, 2007 - Link
I will remove one or two brigades a month, and get all of our combat troops out of Iraq within 16 months. The only troops I will keep in Iraq will perform the limited missions of protecting our diplomats and carrying out targeted strikes on al Qaeda. And I will launch the diplomatic and humanitarian initiatives that are so badly needed.
Obama, speech at DePaul University October 2nd, 2007 - Link
It is time to offer the world a message of hope to counter the prophets of hate. My experience has brought me to the hopeless places. As a boy, I lived in Indonesia and played barefoot with children who could not dream the same dreams that I did. As an adult, I've returned to be with my family in their small village in Kenya, where the promise of America is still an inspiration. As a community organizer, I worked in South Side neighborhoods that had been left behind by global change. As a Senator, I've been to refugee camps in Chad where proud and dignified people can't hope for anything beyond the next handout.
Obama, AFL-CIO Debate Chicago: August 7, 2007 - Link
I would immediately call the president of Mexico, the president of Canada, to try to amend NAFTA, because I think that we can get labor agreements in that agreement right now. And it should reflect the basic principle that our trade agreements should not just be good for Wall Street; it should also be good for Main Street.
Obama, Speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center: August 1, 2007 - Link
The United States cannot steal every secret, penetrate every cell, act on every tip, or track down every terrorist-- nor should we have to do this alone. This is not just about our security. It is about the common security of all the world.
Obama, Foreign Affairs article: July/August 2007 - Link
Finally, we need a comprehensive strategy to defeat global terrorists -- one that draws on the full range of American power, not just our military might. As a senior U.S. military commander put it, when people have dignity and opportunity, "the chance of extremism being welcomed greatly, if not completely, diminishes." It is for this reason that we need to invest with our allies in strengthening weak states and helping to rebuild failed ones.
Obama, Foreign Affairs article: July/August 2007 - Link
To renew American leadership in the world, I intend to rebuild the alliances, partnerships, and institutions necessary to confront common threats and enhance common security. Needed reform of these alliances and institutions will not come by bullying other countries to ratify changes we hatch in isolation. It will come when we convince other governments and peoples that they, too, have a stake in effective partnerships.
Obama, Foreign Affairs article: July/August 2007 - Link
After thousands of lives lost and billions of dollars spent, many Americans may be tempted to turn inward and cede our leadership in world affairs. But this is a mistake we must not make. America cannot meet the threats of this century alone, and the world cannot meet them without America. We can neither retreat from the world nor try to bully it into submission. We must lead the world, by deed and by example.
Obama, Foreign Affairs article: July/August 2007 - Link
And as we strengthen NATO, we must build new alliances and partnerships in other vital regions. As China rises and Japan and South Korea assert themselves, I will work to forge a more effective framework in Asia that goes beyond bilateral agreements, occasional summits, and ad hoc arrangements, such as the six-party talks on North Korea. We need an inclusive infrastructure with the countries in East Asia that can promote stability and prosperity and help confront transnational threats, from terrorist cells in the Philippines to avian flu in Indonesia.
Obama, Democratic Debate at Howard University: June 28, 2007 - Link
But we have to look at Africa not just after a crisis happens; what are we doing with respect to trade opportunities with Africa? What are we doing in terms of investment in Africa? What are we doing to pay attention to Africa consistently with respect to our foreign policy? That has been what’s missing in the White House, and that our term security is going to depend on whether we’re giving children in Sudan and Zimbabwe and in Kenya the same opportunities so that they have a stake in order as opposed to violence and chaos.
Obama, Speech at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs: April 23, 2007 - Link
Today it's become fashionable to disparage the United Nations, the World Bank, and other international organizations. In fact, reform of these bodies is urgently needed if they are to keep pace with the fast-moving threats we face. Such real reform will not come, however, by dismissing the value of these institutions, or by bullying other countries to ratify changes we have drafted in isolation. Real reform will come because we convince others that they too have a stake in change - that such reforms will make their world, and not just ours, more secure.
Obama, Speech at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs: April 23, 2007 - Link
To build a better, freer world, we must first behave in ways that reflect the decency and aspirations of the American people. This means ending the practices of shipping away prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far-off countries, of detaining thousands without charge or trial, of maintaining a network of secret prisons to jail people beyond the reach of the law.
Representative Ron Paul:
Paul, Republican Debate: January 30, 2008 - Link
We should be debating foreign policy, whether we should have interventionism or non-interventionism, whether we should be defending this country or whether we should be the policemen of the world, whether we should be running our empire or not, and how are going to have guns and butter?
Paul, Republican Debate: January 30, 2008 - Link
But the most important thing as a commander in chief is not moving troops around, as much as it is having a wise foreign policy that doesn't get us involved in so many things that we get trapped in and we linger year after year. We've been doing this for so long. And I like President Bush's argument that we have a humble foreign policy when he ran in 2000, and that we not be the policemen of the world.
Paul, Republican Debate: January 24, 2008 - Link
The dollar is crashing. And why -- and -- and -- and Tim there suggests that we -- we think of the economy, but not in foreign policy. You can't do that. They're -- they're one and the same. That's where all the money's going. We're spending nearly a trillion dollars a year overseas maintaining this empire… But nobody here is willing to even suggest that we cut something overseas. But we have to. We don't need to cut anything here at home. I'd like to see things frozen. I'd like to see massive tax cuts. But we need deregulation. I was one of three people that voted against Sarbanes-Oxley. I knew that would be a problem, and it is a problem for the financial markets.
Paul, Univision Debate: December 9, 2007 - Link
Let me tell you why we have a problem in South America and Central America: because we've been involved in their internal affairs for so long. We have been meddling in their business.
Governor Bill Richardson:
Richardson, Speech in Iowa: December 29, 2007 - Link
We urgently need to find the courage and the will to once again lead the fight against global problems. Not only because we are a decent and compassionate people, but also because of this inescapable reality: America will never be safe in a world riddled by poverty, desperation, hatred and violence.
Richardson, Foreign Affairs Article: January/February 2008 - Link
A fifth trend transforming our world is the increase in global economic interdependence and financial imbalances without the sufficient growth of institutional capacities to manage these realities. Globalization has made every country's economy more vulnerable to resource constraints and financial shocks that originate beyond its borders. A global energy crisis or a sudden collapse of the U.S. dollar could do great damage to the world economy.
Richardson, Foreign Affairs Article: January/February 2008 - Link
We need to start taking human rights in Africa particularly seriously, because the two worst genocides in recent history have taken place there, in Rwanda and now in Darfur. We failed to stop the killing in Rwanda, and for years we have failed to stop the killing in Darfur. America must hold itself to a higher standard of leadership. The United States should have sent a special envoy as soon as the mass killings began in Darfur. We could still do more to mobilize multilateral pressure on the Sudanese government and on China, which has great influence over Sudan. It is shameful that the Bush administration continues to wring its hands over Darfur when it is within our power to do something.
Richardson, Democratic Debate in Las Vegas: November 15, 2007 - Link
Well, you know, tonight, we've talked about Iran; we've talked Iraq; we've talked about regimes that have not been friendly. I'd throw in North Korea. The cornerstone of my foreign policy would be diplomacy and negotiation. We would be not the world's policeman, but the world's conscience. All my life as an ambassador to United Nations, as a special envoy, I've brought people together: as a governor, bipartisan solutions; as a congressman; as the secretary of energy. I'm going to answer your question specifically on the Middle East. Number one, I would have a Middle East peace envoy.
Richardson, Democratic Debate in Las Vegas: November 15, 2007 - Link
I would base a Middle East settlement on a two-state solution -- protection for the security of Israel and a Palestinian state. I would also look at adjustments in the '67 borders. I would also look at dealing effectively and efficiently and fairly with the settlements issue, with Jerusalem. I would do something else. I would talk to Syria. I would talk to Iran. It's all tied in a solution. It's called leadership and diplomacy. And to take these steps you have to be bold.
Richardson, Speech at UCLA: October 24, 2007. - Link
At its root, illegal immigration is an economic problem, driven by the lack of decent jobs for people in their home countries. So long as other economies fail to produce jobs, people will continue to come here. As long as we have a monopoly on hope, we will be a magnet for the hopeful. If we want to stop illegal immigration, we need to promote equitable development in Latin America. There is no way around it. We need trade agreements that create good jobs in all countries, including our own, while promoting human and worker's rights.
Richardson, Speech at UCLA: October 24, 2007. - Link
We must promote trade agreements that include strong and enforceable labor, environmental, and human rights standards. Free and fair trade can benefit both Latin American and US workers. It will benefit consumers throughout the region. And it will bind closer the nations of the entire hemisphere.
Richardson, Speech at Radio Iowa: October 18, 2007 - Link
The world expects much from America. And we must expect even more from ourselves. I believe that the United States alone can rise to the challenge of leading a worldwide effort to avert these global threats.
Richardson, Speech at Radio Iowa: October 18, 2007 - Link
We will craft a new foreign policy adapted to a world of complex challenges. Challenges which will require thoughtful and global solutions. No nation can defend its own inter¬ests without blending them with the interests of others ... and seeking common solutions to common problems. This "New Realism" will at once require us to anchor our diplomacy with time- tested, reality-based principles ... and it will unleash our potential to achieve dramatic change.
Richardson, Speech at Radio Iowa: October 18, 2007 - Link
I also believe that the World Bank is the not the place for politics. Its only ideology must be the relief of suffering, with a single-minded focus on poverty reduction. The IMF must recognize that social safety nets are no barrier -- indeed they are essential -- to promoting economic growth around the world. The United States must increase its financial contribution to these international protection and development initiatives. We must ask other wealthy nations to do the same.
Richardson, Speech at Radio Iowa: October 18, 2007 - Link
The United Nations is a necessary and important framework for building the international cooperation that will be necessary to confront problems like environmental degradation and poverty. We must reform and invigorate it. As a former UN ambassador, I more than anyone in this race understand the shortcomings of that institution. I've worked to solve them. And I also know the incredible power that the legitimacy of international cooperation can lend to peacekeeping. To humanitarian relief. To addressing climate change. And to economic development. We will develop crops that are more resistant to heat and drought, and distribute these new crop strains to vulnerable regions of the world.
Richardson, Speech at Radio Iowa: October 18, 2007 - Link
Fourth, my 21st Century Marshall Plan will fight cross-border crime. Sophisticated criminal networks running black market trade in arms, drugs, endangered species, counterfeit goods, and human beings threaten the security of us all. We must end slavery forever. Financial assistance to developing nations should be tied to swift and solid progress toward the eradication of human trafficking.
Richardson, Speech at Radio Iowa: October 18, 2007 - Link
I ask all Americans to join me in rebuilding our global leadership. Together we need: The compassion to commit the necessary resources. The courage to stand fast in the face of inevitable setbacks. And the faith to return to American principles ... Equality. Freedom. Human dignity. These are the values that every American has inherited. Let us be worthy of them.
Richardson, Article in the Harvard International Review: Summer 2007 - Link
US leaders also must restore their commitment to international law and multilateral cooperation, which means many things. It means promoting expansion of the UN Security Council’s permanent membership to include Japan, India, Germany and one country each from Africa and Latin America. It also means ethical reform at the UN so that this vital institution can help its many underdeveloped and destitute member states meet the challenges of the 21st Century. Finally it means expanding the G8 to include new economic giants like India and China.
Richardson, Article in the Harvard International Review: Summer 2007 - Link
Policymakers also have not yet adopted a new paradigm for coping with economic globalization. Despite the profound transformation and rapid growth of the global economy in recent years, they have not gotten beyond tired old debates about “free trade versus protectionism” and they have done little to modernize the international organizations tasked with managing the global economy.
Governor Mitt Romney:
Romney, Op-Ed in the Des Moines Register: November 27, 2007 - Link
We must open foreign markets to American goods and assure that trade agreements provide a level playing field.
Romney: Trade Advisory Group Press Release: October 31, 2007. - Link
Opening markets to our goods and services is key to expanding opportunity here at home. Expanding trade is pro-growth, pro-industry, pro-agriculture, and pro-American leadership in the world," said Governor Romney. "With years of public and private sector experience working on trade related issues, this group will provide valuable insight into what we can do as a nation to expand trade opportunities around the world.
Romney, Article in Foreign Affairs: July/Aug 2007 - Link
In the changing world we face, our alliances and engagement must change, too. Clearly, the United Nations has not been able to fulfill its founding purpose of providing collective security against aggression and genocide. Thus, we need to continue to push for reform of the organization.
Romney, Foreign Affairs: July/Aug 2007 - Link
We must examine where existing alliances can be strengthened and reinvigorated and where new alliances need to be forged. I agree with former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar that we should build on the NATO alliance to defeat radical Islam. We need to work with our allies to pursue Aznar's call for greater coordination in military, homeland security, and nonproliferation efforts.
Romney, Article in Foreign Affairs July/Aug 2007 - Link
A critical part of this effort would involve creating new trade and economic opportunities for the Middle East that could be powerful forces, not only economically, but also in breaking down barriers to cooperation on even the most intractable problems. Muslim countries pursuing free-trade agreements with the United States, for example, have dismantled all aspects of the Arab League's boycott of Israel. The power of trade to break down barriers and build ties is also seen in the Qualified Industrial Zone program that grants U.S. free-trade benefits to Egyptian products that incorporate materials from Israel.
Romney, Foreign Affairs: July/Aug 2007 - Link
We should also look for new ways to strengthen regional cooperation and security partnerships with responsible actors in order to confront challenges such as the genocide in Darfur. And if the UN Human Rights Council continues to be inactive or behave hypocritically, we should unite with nations that share our commitment to defending human rights in order to promote change.