Kerry: Obama has better foreign policy judgment

    Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) roundly praised Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's ability to handle global problems and questioned the direction in which Sen. John McCain would lead the country, during a Cohen Auditorium speech last night.
    Kerry garnered energetic applause as he discussed the changing nature of the country's national security concerns and contrasted the two presidential candidates' capabilities to address them in the inaugural lecture of the Fletcher Political Forum.
    Although he described both men as "honorable" and referred to McCain as a friend, Kerry, the Democratic nominee in 2004, maintained that Obama has the leadership qualities necessary at this challenging juncture in history. "We have to send him to the White House," Kerry said.
    In the question-and-answer section that followed, however, senior Stephanie Brown told Kerry that with "all due respect," she had come to hear the senator talk about foreign policy, not to attend an "Obama rally."
    Kerry, who endorsed Obama in January, countered that the speech was not a rally but an articulation of how he viewed the election. An Obama administration represents "the world I want to be working in," he said.
    Kerry, up for reelection himself on Nov. 4, did not address his own campaign in his prepared remarks aside from acknowledging that a Fletcher alum is on his campaign staff. "So if I don't win, I'm blaming you," he said to all the students in attendance.
    He focused instead on Obama and McCain, zeroing in on foreign policy at a point when virtually all public discourse about the presidential election seems to revolve around the economy. Kerry cautioned the audience that although "things look pretty good" for Obama in the polls, "no overconfidence … is allowed."
    In 2004, many exit polls reported on the night of the election that Kerry had beaten President George W. Bush.
    "You are looking at the shortest administration in history," Kerry said jokingly.
    He praised Tufts for being "one of the best places in America to prepare for leadership." He compared the global leadership that the university fosters to the qualities he sees in Obama.
    Kerry also advised that as students look ahead, they should not forget to glance back as well. Exactly 46 years ago yesterday, then-President John Kennedy addressed the country about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Although some were calling at the time for military strikes against Cuba, Kerry said that if Kennedy had taken their advice, it could have led to World War III.
    Instead, Kennedy spent "13 agonizing days" considering the situation and ultimately avoided a potential nuclear strike. Kerry believes it is this type of "patient, pragmatic, steeling and wise" leadership that the country needs today.
    "We face a complex and urgent set of challenges," he said. "The very definition of national security is being rewritten." This new definition includes problems that stretch beyond borders, such as terrorism, AIDS and global warming.
    Kerry argued that at this point in time, the United States faces the greatest need to act but possesses the least power to do so.
    "Never before in our lifetime has our position in the world — militarily, diplomatically and morally — been so compromised," he said. He mentioned several issues that need confronting, including the global financial crisis, the proliferation of terrorist organizations in the Middle East and the genocide in Sudan.
    While Kerry said that, especially around this time of year, he tries not to dwell on do-overs, "It is more than important that our country begin a new chapter in foreign policy.
    "The American people have a real decision," Kerry said. "Both candidates put America first," but their visions for the country differ greatly.
    Kerry said McCain's envisions a unilateral approach that would involve "defense of judgments that have proven to be mistakes," a reference to the Bush administration's foreign policy.
    Obama's vision, he said, is broader and involves a greater understanding of all global issues.
    "Both candidates have promised change. [But] change is more than words," he said. "It's not an exaggeration to say we know what a John McCain administration would look like," Kerry said. If "you strip away the lip service to change," McCain's record of voting in favor of Bush's policies 95 percent of the time remains, Kerry said.
    Kerry stressed that in order to fight terrorism and cut carbon emissions, it is important to reach out to other world leaders.
    The senator said McCain "won't even say if he will talk to the prime minister of Spain."
    Obama, however, understands the importance of reclaiming our "moral authority." This involves shutting down the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and "making it clear that the United States of America does not torture — not now, not ever," Kerry said.
    Drawing on his own military experience, Kerry, a decorated war veteran, reminded the audience that the rules in the Geneva Convention were put in place in large part "to protect soldiers."
    Kerry also had harsh words for the Bush administration. "The last eight years have taught us that ideology is not enough to govern," he said. "Judgment is paramount."
    He discussed several specific global problems that pose a threat to national security, the most significant of which he believes is our dependence on foreign oil. He called on the United States to break the "Gordian Knot of fossil fuels."
    Advocating for an energy revolution starting right now, Kerry emphasized that it is key to build an infrastructure of renewable resources.
    "We cannot drill out of this crisis," he said. "We have to invent ourselves out."
    Again, Kerry distinguished between the two candidates. He said Obama recognizes global warming as a man-made problem and has defined a response that would make America healthier.
    McCain, he said, voted against renewable energy 23 times in the Senate. In the night's only reference to Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain's vice presidential nominee, Kerry did not mention her by name. He said she "can't see that climate change is man-made but [says] that she can protect America because she can see Russia from her home state."  
    Kerry then turned to the war in Iraq, where he sees important differences between the candidates. "John McCain still thinks it was a good idea to invade Iraq," he said. "One of the war's earliest cheerleaders has really become one of the last … Even President Bush has seen the light."
    Kerry believes that Obama will be "as cautious getting us out of the war as Bush was reckless getting into it," and that he will turn his attention to Afghanistan and Pakistan after ending the Iraq conflict.
    "Afghanistan is a country sliding into chaos," he said. While Obama was for sending more troops to the country early on, McCain was "perhaps the last man on earth" to realize that the troops were needed, Kerry said.
    The situation, however, is more complex than that. "More troops on the ground are vital, [but] if that is all we do, we may not stop the problems; we may make them worse," he said.
    Kerry expressed the need for the "comprehensive" and "sustained" policy involving NATO allies that Obama would bring to the White House. Policy in Afghanistan is important to Pakistan as well, Kerry said.
    On Iran, too, Kerry feels that Obama is the best equipped to develop a plan that would include "a long-term strategy for the country and for the region."
    In his last specific example, Kerry discussed Russia and said that Obama not only saw the crisis with Georgia coming but tried to prevent it, and has demonstrated the type of statesmanship that 21st century leadership needs.  
    McCain, on the other hand, had advocated signing an arms deal with Moscow, Kerry said. "Good luck, John," he said.
    Using some of McCain's own words against him, Kerry quoted a segment from the candidate's book, "Worth Fighting For," that discussed how the Arizona senator makes quick decisions and is sometimes forced to live with negative consequences.
    Kerry asked what would have happened if McCain were in the White House during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He questioned whether McCain would have shown the same judgment as Kennedy.
    Kerry later turned his talk to the problem of the country's intolerance of Muslims. "The world is watching and waiting," he said. "We need to speak directly to our own Muslim communities … There is no ‘us' and there is no ‘them.'"
    In a personal appeal to his listeners, Kerry said any president needs help in making American stronger. "The world has changed — and not for the better — and we need you to change it back," he said.
    This could include teaching English in China, helping impoverished countries get clean water, rebuilding American cities or even simply living a green lifestyle. "All of this will make America [stronger], regardless of who you vote for," he said.  
    In his work in the Senate, Kerry has met several world leaders and has found that they are not sure who we are as a country right now. "That's what we get to define in two weeks," he said, calling this election a defining moment in history. "It's up to us what we do with those moments."
    Kerry believes that this election is a "moment to shatter boundaries and make history.
    "We need to seize this mom-ent," he said in the conclusion of his remarks. "We need to make Barack Obama president of the United States."