Reply #38: Never in the past... [View All]

[DjTj]

...has "foreign policy experience" proven essential to the ability of a President to lead this country.

How much foreign policy experience did John F. Kennedy have before he had to handle the Cuban Missile Crisis?

How much foreign policy experience did Franklin Delano Roosevelt have before he led the country in World War 2?

How much foreign policy experience did Woodrow Wilson have before he led the country in World War 1?

A great majority of American Presidents have had their primary experience in domestic affairs. A great majority of them have been successful, as we are still the most powerful nation on earth.

The truth is, there is no prerequisite to being President, and that is the beauty of America. We do not have a ruling class; anyone can be President. Who decides what experience is necessary? We the people.

I believe John Edwards is the right man to lead our foreign policy. One day after the fall of Baghdad in 2003, John Edwards stood on the Senate floor and urged President Bush to share this vision: "A free Iraq could serve as a model for the entire Arab world. And if done right - with humility, patience and cooperation - this effort to rebuild Iraq will bring the world together and return America to a place where it is respected and admired."

On the stump, John Edwards speaks of returning the United States to a place where we are respected and looked up to. He wants to work more closely with other countries and bring the world community together. I believe he can do this because he has done far better than any other candidate at bringing the American people together. He does not only appeal to angry Democrats who hate President Bush; he reaches centrist voters in every part of the country, and he reaches the disenfranchised voters who are more worried about jobs than ideology.

The first step towards bringing the world together is bringing this country together, and I believe John Edwards can do that.

I'm not electing a resume, I'm electing a man I believe in. That's what America did with Bill Clinton and with John Kennedy. That's the kind of President I want, and that's the kind of President America will choose.