don't break the stick.

John McCain has gone on the offensive. and effectively joined the media in calling Obama the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party in the process. he attacked Obama's promise to be open to talks with leaders such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. he calls Obama inexperienced and naive to think that open talks without preconditions would weaken the US position. however, by cutting down Obama he also builds him up. by addressing his policy statement and not Hilary's, he seems to be acknowledging, as have the media at large, that Obama will be the nominee. while nothing has been decided yet, it certainly looks that way.

on to what McCain said: "It is likely such a meeting would not only fail to persuade him to abandon Iran's nuclear ambition, its support of terrorists and commitment to Israel's extinction. It could very well convince him that those policies are succeeding in strengthening his hold on power, and embolden him to continue his very dangerous behavior."

i dont see it. i just dont agree with it. ive said it before, you cant ignore a problem away. Obama hasnt said that he'll concede anything to Iran. he hasnt given any details of how he wants that talk to go. thats the brilliance of it. theres no agenda. its just opening up a diplomatic dialog that hasnt existed. there is no substance that to criticize, just the idea of talking to 'a bad man.'

Obama wants to find common ground with him. he also notes that the US military could crush Iran if need be, but the idea is to talk. Teddy Roosevelt said famously in 1903 that "There is a homely old adage which runs: 'Speak softly and carry and big stick; you will go far.'" which is the very point Obama is making. lets try talking to them. if the spit in our face and stomp on our toes we'll club 'em over the head with that big stick.

this is a reversal of Bush policy, that McCain has adopted a great deal of. we have all seen and are seeing the problems of the 'shoot first, ask questions later' policy of the Bush white house. i think McCain makes a very effective argument against his own policy here. if we open a friendly channel then there is more space to maneuver. have you ever tried to convince a foe to do anything for you? not only is it an awkward task, but they are unlikely to respond with much zeal in helping you. but a friend is much easier to approach and much more likely to see your side.

if you just start swinging the big stick at everyone who disagrees with you eventually the stick will break and youll have a bunch of pissed off people looking to draw blood. meaning the Bush policy wont work in the long run. the military will break down and lots of people will want to kick us while we are down. talking makes you friends and keeps your stick in good shape in case you need to use it.

on a somewhat related issue, i think we need to take off Israel's training wheels and let them confront the big bad world on their own if they are going to be so confrontational with their neighbors. i certainly dont agree with Ahmadinejad, and believe that Israel has the right to exist. Israel just needs to back off to its 1967 borders and just try and be nice to the neighbors. i think they would be more likely to back down if the US and EU backed off in their support a little.

but i digress. Obama's positions on talking to the world and listen to people in general is why i like him for president. hes got ideas, and is willing to hear others out. Bush II scares me. Obama is young and inexperienced and open minded. kinda like Kennedy was. Obama is our best hope to get back on track. in my opinion, anyway.