Obama and Clinton: Who Would be Best for Europe? - Christian Andreas Morris
Clinton has visited Europe on several occasions in the last few years while Obama never convened a single policy meeting of the Senate European Subcommittee which he chairs, says Steve Clemons of the New America Foundation. Clinton is characterized as the most “Hawkish” candidate and Obama as the most influenced by the idea of American exceptionalism and thus the most likely to patronize America’s allies.Nonetheless, both candidates’ rhetoric evidences an overarching adherence to the principles of multilateralism, cooperation, and international legality.
In Europe, the election of a Democratic candidate is likely to be welcomed. However, that is not to say that the relationship will simply be upgraded by virtue of a hypothetical new American president’s Democratic affiliation; much work needs to be done indeed to achieve a better understanding between the partners. Given the significance of the transatlantic partnership in world affairs, irregardless of how damaged and weak it may currently be, it is surprising how marginal a topic it has been rendered by the major Democratic candidates to the presidency of the United States. The intentions of the Democratic hopefuls vis-à-vis the reinvigoration of relations with European allies are usually implied or mentioned shortly in a rather procedural fashion without any talk of a concrete strategy to accomplish better cooperation.
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