Americans watching the last presidential debate, ostensibly on
foreign affairs, might have thought they were watching a science-fiction
movie, like "Armageddon" or "Deep Impact," where asteroids collided
with the earth.
Poof! Europe gone. Poof! Canada and Mexico gone.
Latin America, too. Poof! Africa gone. Poof! India, Japan and Asia gone.
After the dust settled, all that was left was the United States and the
Middle East. Oh, it took a while to discover, but China had survived,
too – barely.
No mention of our long-standing trans-Atlantic relationship with
Europe. Only one smug mention by Romney that we don't want to be like
Greece. Is Europe's stability and prosperity important to us? Where does
Russia fit?
The economic relationship between the United States
and Europe is, as one observer has noted, "the deepest and broadest
between any two continents in history." We share high wages, high labor
and environmental standards and open access to markets. And the backbone
of the economic relationship is foreign investment, not just trade.
We have daily people-to-people contacts with Canada and Mexico, family ties
through migration and a shared North American environment. We share
common political values with Canada and have a direct interest in a
prosperous and democratic Mexico.
The debt crisis in Europe, of course, threatens economies on both sides
of the Atlantic – and worldwide. Yet no mention of the need to restore
growth and confidence. But the trans-Atlantic relationship is not just
about economics. We share an enduring set of common interests and
democratic values, no small thing.
The African continent – with its 57 countries and 1 billion people
who look to the United States as a democratic beacon, and where we get
nearly a quarter of our energy supplies, plus at least 50 rare metals that we need for computers and electronic equipment – got no mention.
India,
the world's largest democracy with more than a billion people,
dominates the geography of the South Asia region. But it, too, got no
mention.
China did get mentioned, but only as a "currency manipulator" (Romney)
or site of outsourced U.S. jobs (Obama). The fact is the Chinese
currency situation has improved markedly; this is not really much of an
issue right now. And the United States, California particularly, is
poised in coming years to benefit from economic exchange with China – if
we can get past the usual China-bashing that is a staple of the
campaign season.
Fortunately, Earth wasn't hit by gigantic asteroids, so Americans and
their political leaders can rediscover and should re-engage with the
larger world – if not in the remaining days of the campaign, then in the
coming four years.
