Listen to experts discuss the various foreign policy challenges the next U.S. administration will face as part of a three-day symposium during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, cosponsored with the University of Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.

This symposium was underwritten by Chevron Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company, the Stanford Financial Group, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Watch experts discuss the various foreign policy challenges the next U.S. administration will face as part of a three-day symposium during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, cosponsored with the University of Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.

This symposium was underwritten by Chevron Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company, the Stanford Financial Group, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Michael Gerson writes that Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention squandered opportunities to transcend partisan divides.

Michael Gerson writes that John McCain's sense of social justice combines "a religious concern for the weak and oppressed with a military conception of national honor."

Michael Gerson says that Barack Obama's declaration that he will not fill his speech at the Democratic convention with high rhetoric and instead deliver a more "workmanlike speech," is a mistake. To really capture the unique historical moment that he has been given, Obama should address America's deeper divisions based in issues such as wealth, segragation and opportunity.

The Obama campaign is managing to evoke many hopes from past presidential campaigns, leaving candidate McCain with little to campaign on but fear.  In this Bloomberg op-ed, Amity Shlaes says that McCain has his own opportunity to call for more realistic hopes at next week's Republican Convention.

The next U.S. president will face a more difficult opening-day set of global problems than any of his predecessors since World War II.

From the September/October 2008 issue of Foreign Affairs: The next U.S. president will face problems that will require strength and a renewed sense of national purpose to solve.

Sebastian Mallaby urges the presidential candidates to consider a bolder response to the economic crisis than what's been seen so far. A second fiscal stimulus is required combined with a medium-term plan to fix entitlements so as not to bust the budget.

Using Barack Obama’s recent trip to Europe and the Middle East as a backdrop, Walter Rusell Mead highlights the many paradoxes associated with US foreign policy.

Barack Obama will be given a euphoric reception this week when he speaks at Victory Column in Berlin.  But in this Bloomberg article, Amity Shlaes argues that the Berlin cityscape reminds us of the limits of Obama’s foreign policy and that sometimes you encounter war even when you don’t want to.

James Goldgeier and Derek Chollet remind America’s European friends that they should not be lulled into thinking that the exit of President Bush will mean that all of the tough problems will be solved and the hard work will be over. In fact, the work is just getting started.

“On the surface, defining patriotism is simple. It is love and devotion to country. The questions are why we love it and how we express our devotion. That's where the arguments begin,” says Peter Beinart

Americans are much less afraid of military threats today than they were in 2004 and that has fundamentally changed the politics of foreign policy, argues Peter Beinart. Because of this, Barack Obama and the Democrats should not worry about being called “soft” if they advance policies that defend civil liberties, reduce troop presence in Iraq and engage Iran in unconditional negotiations.

The Great Depression and the New Deal point to two seemingly contradictory responses to a serious economic slump.  In this Bloomberg article, Amity Shlaes argues that the political consumer will prefer calls for New Deal-style collective action on the economy, while the cultural consumer will prefer hearing about the strength of the individual to overcome tough odds.

Senator John McCain may describe himself as a “realistic idealist,” but this formulation does little to paper over the very real schism among Republicans about the future direction of U.S. foreign policy, write James Goldgeier and Derek Chollet.

In this Bloomberg article, Amity Shlaes argues that John McCain’s fiscal program may look expensive on paper but it will provide a valuable infrastructure that will shore up the American house in ways that will prove more than worth it later.

When it comes to bucking party trends Barack Obama’s track record falls well short of John McCain’s, says Michael Gerson, calling into question Obama’s stance as a centrist candidate.  

Michael Gerson describes the miraculous political comeback of John McCain’s campaign, which, a year ago this summer, was nothing more than a “bankrupt political joke.”

Because the Bush administration has weakened America’s global position, it will leave its successor less freedom to embrace new foreign policy ideas, even some good ones, says Stephen Sestanovich