First the UN, now Epcot

The Onion breaks news today of Sarah Palin's next planned step to make her foreign policy credentials more robust, a lengthy fact-finding mission to Disney's Epcot Center. Check out the details here.

When Judges Make Foreign Policy

This is a truly interesting article in the NYT magazine today. The idea, essentially, is that the US Supreme Court has become an important factor in how the United States relates to the rest of the world. The idea might displease some conservatives, and it is probably part of a wider question about the enormous power judges wield in this country. (What is it the French say about us? We have government by judge?) But whatever you think about it, it is probably a true observation. The authour breaks the battle down into the conservative "sovereignty" camp and the liberal "internationalist" camp. I belong pretty strongly to the latter and I suspect the authour does too, but he's pretty fair. There is an interesting tid bit about Medellín that I did not know:

What made this conflict between the Supreme Court and the International Court of Justice particularly stark was that the Bush administration had for once taken the side of international law. Before the Supreme Court issued its opinion, President Bush issued a memorandum advising state courts to follow the judgment of the International Court of Justice.

I would never have thought that Bush would have done something like that (though possibily he was just completely unaware).

The article also serves as a potent reminder that the next president will very likely be able to appoint more Supreme Court justices than Bush. To me at least, this argues strongly for an Obama presidency, though obviously more conservative folks may disagree.

The Foreign Policies of Obama and McCain

Interesting article this morning in the LA Times, which talks about the similarity between McCain and Obama on issues of foreign policy. Not to toot my own horn, but I have felt the same way for a while. Republicans like to portray Obama as a weak-kneed sissy; Democrats like to portray McCain as Doctor Strangelove. In reality, they are both pretty well inside the American mainstream, and not only on foreign policy. Another question entirely is whether this similarity is a good thing. Should voters have more choice? But even if they did, would it make a difference? the vast majority of people would vote for Obama over Kucinich or McCain over Paul. The key insight comes at the end of the article:

"As a rule I think our presidential candidates are punished for anything that veers too far from the conventional wisdom," Saunders said.

And for better or worse, that is probably true.

More on Sarah Palin's Foreign Policy Experience!

Um... yeah, about that trip she took awhile back to Iraq to visit the troops... yeah, turns out, not so much the Iraq, really just Kuwait. Also, her other trip outside this continent, Ireland, turns out to have just been a refueling stop.

Hmm. But you can see Russia from part of Alaska.