US Foreign Policy Seen from Foreign Shores
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That presidential elections are not won on issues of foreign policy is a political cliché. But foreign policy is the issue of tonight's final debate in a campaign now widely believed to be dead even. In the places likely to be in dispute, do people see real differences between Obama and Romney? We hear some voices from overseas. Also, Lance Armstrong is formally stripped of his Tour de France titles, and George McGovern has died at the age of 90. A famous loser in presidential politics, he was a war hero and a winner as a humanitarian. We look at his legacy.
Banner image: The view of the wreckage after a car bomb exploded near a police station in the central Bab Touma district of Damascus October 21,2012. The explosion took place as President Bashar al-Assad was meeting international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who has called for a temporary truce in Syria's civil war. Photo by Sana/Reuters
Making News
Lance Armstrong Formally Stripped of Tour de France Titles ()
"This is a landmark day for cycling." Those are the words today of Pat McQuaid, President of the International Cycling Union, as the UCI stripped Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France victories and banned him for life from cycling. Bonnie Ford, is Olympics and cycling writer for ESPN.com, has covered six of those seven races.
Guests:
- Bonnie D. Ford: ESPN, @Bonnie_D_Ford
Main Topic
US Foreign Policy Seen from Foreign Shores ()
For tonight's final debate, President Obama and Governor Romney will be seated tonight at a small table with Bob Schieffer of CBS News. It's a lax format, and although Schieffer just might let them pivot to the economy, women's issues or unemployment, the major topic is foreign affairs. Does China care about economic threats? Has Israel's Netanyahu tried to swing the election? Is Iran anxious about an attack? What about Syria and the Arab Spring? We hear voices from around the world and update one subject that's almost guaranteed to arise: the deadly attack in Benghazi.
Guests:
- Anne Gearan: Washington Post, @agearan
- Borzou Daragahi: Financial Times, @borzou
- Harriet Sherwood: Guardian, @harrietsherwood
- Thomas Erdbrink: New York Times, @ThomasErdbrink
- Adam Minter: Bloomberg World View, @AdamMinter
Links:
- Gearan on the candidates' differing views of US role in the world
- Daragahi on how the West can help stable governments emerge in the Arab world
- Sherwood on Obama's failure to pursue a two-state solution
- Erdbrink on President Ahmadinejad tying Iranian currency drop to US-led sanctions
- Minter on Chinese reaction to the 'Mitt and Barack Show'
Reporter's Notebook
George McGovern Dies at 90 ()
Robert F. Kennedy said that, of all his colleagues in the US Senate, "The person who has the most feeling and does things in the most genuine way is George McGovern." One of the first Senators to oppose the Vietnam War and advocate US relations with China, McGovern is best known for his lopsided defeat by Richard Nixon in 1972. He died this weekend at the age of 90. Journalist and historian Rich Perlstein is author of several books including, Nixonland: the Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America. His obituary of McGovern appears in the current New Republic magazine.
Guests:
- Rick Perlstein: author and historian, @rickperlstein
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