Conduct Unbecoming

Barack Obama is traveling overseas, visiting favorite Republican war zones before moving on to Europe, where he'll start rebuilding our reputation in the world.

After Republicans repeatedly suggested that trips overseas somehow translate to foreign policy experience, Obama has gone traveling for a week. After he returns, he should have about the same amount of foreign policy experience as John McCain, who spent years in a North Vietnam prison.

So much for foreign policy experience. And, so much for image making.

The Republicans have been more than a little jealous of all the press attention Senator Obama has been getting. Some have even suggested that they deserve "equal time," even though it was the Republicans who insisted that the old "equal time" rule be repealed years ago.

John McCain was all over the morning news shows this morning. Was he saying anything substantive? No. He was whining like a toddler (or at least like former Senator Phil Gramm): "I was right. I was right. Senator Obama was wrong. Senator Obama was wrong. The surge has worked. The surge has worked." Wherever he went, he seemed to repeat himself. I guess we can cross those items off the Talking Points list, he's covered them.

It was undignified and unbecoming.

Both men took strong stands on a specific issue - the troop surge. One could argue that the additional troops (which the incompetent Bush administration should have sent in from the beginning to maintain order) have helped to improve security in some areas of Iraq. But, based on a slight improvement, it's not fair to say that we're winning the war.

Besides, there's the matter of the increasing violence in Afghanistan.

A political cartoon this weekend depicted it best. It showed American troops withdrawing from Iraq into Afghanistan. Then, withdrawing from Afghanistan into Iraq. Then, the seemingly endless cycle would repeat itself.

Instead of pretending that foreign travel somehow grants foreign policy experience, I'd just as soon both men stay home and come up with solid, bipartisan plans to fix our ailing economy, and rebuild our once proud middle class.

That would be an image we could all respect.