The presidential contender prepared to keep U.S. troops in Iraq for 100 years has offered a measured, sensible view of America's future role in the world and professed a reluctance to engage in war without the advice and aid of allies. Who would have expected that from John McCain?
But the Arizona Republican's surprisingly straight talk last week was a public repudiation of the Bush administration's foreign policy. His sober assessment of the challenges the United States faces in the world in the years ahead should serve the Republican presidential candidate in good stead as he pursues moderates and independents from both political parties.
In a thoughtful speech to the World Affairs Council in Los Angeles, Mr. McCain described himself as a "realistic idealist," but we bet the senator is much more a realist. His recognition that the U.S. has much work ahead to repair its image in the world suggests as much. Mr. McCain appears to be less a hawk than a soldier-diplomat who understands that robust diplomacy should precede force and that the U.S. no longer can presume a primacy in the world.
Too bad Mr. McCain's rejection of President Bush's go-it-alone foreign policy doesn't extend to Baghdad. He is resolute about America's continued presence in Iraq (which we oppose) and its ability to achieve its goals there (a dubious contention). His view that America has a "moral responsibility" to clean up what it started in Iraq is hard to dispute. But the U.S. is in no position to claim that high ground - its military can't sustain continued deployments there, and its troops' presence, viewed as an occupation by many in the region, further erodes our standing in the world.
Whether Mr. McCain or his Democratic opponent wins in November, collaboration, not confrontation, should be the next administration's guiding principle as the U.S. tries to repair its image and regain its influence across the globe.