USA Foreign policy debate begins Candidates outline their credentials to become leader of the free world. With the 2000 presidential election just over a year away, the United States may be heading into its most intense national discourse on defense and foreign-policy issues since the end of the cold war almost a decade ago. To be sure, the campaign is in its early days yet. Few candidates have expounded at length on their views of the US role in the world and how the nation should wield its unrivaled military, economic, and political might in the new century.
Most voters cite education, moral issues, and family matters as their top priorities.
But foreign affairs comes right behind on that list, according to recent polls. Given widespread satisfaction with the economy, issues like terrorism and weapons proliferation, defense spending, overseas military commitments, and relations with Russia and China are almost certain to receive increasing attention as the campaign heats up. There is a tendency among people who are assessing candidates to ask if this is a person who can be a capable international leader who can deal with international affairs and defense matters. All this does not mean that defense and foreign policy issues will influence the outcome of the elections. To the contrary, many experts say that absent a major crisis like a showdown with China over Taiwan, perceptions of candidates' character will have greater impact on how people vote than positions on key issues, domestic or foreign.