Marco Vicenzio, Director of the Global Strategy Project in Washington, DC and Fellow of the Foreign Policy Association recently published an article titled "Diplomacy in word and deed' in the July 28 edition of the Boston Globe. He points out that the major objective of Obama's trip to Europe was to emphasize his ability to appear "presidential' at home and abroad and to demonstrate his "preparedness' in foreign policy. Therefore
"avoiding rhetorical missteps or policy errors was a key concern, as was providing the diplomatically correct and responsibly rhetoric, sufficient enough to distinguish himself from Senator John McCain, but not deviating or implying any radical departure from mainstream policies.'
Interestingly, according to Vicenzino, by the end of the trip, due to his efforts to remain "diplomatic' and "politically correct' the result was a further diminishment of any substantive differences in foreign policy between the two candidates.
