What 9/11 effect?

Four years ago, Bush v. Kerry was essentially a foreign policy choice. If you knew someone’s view on the war, you probably knew which way they were going to vote. The final days of the campaign were dominated by arguments about who could best keep America safe. But now foreign policy has largely been bumped from the closing conversation. Both McCain and Obama talk about it far less than they did during the primaries.

One of the many ironies in all this is that if the primary electorates had know how little role foreign policy would play in the general election, they probably wouldn’t have nominated McCain or Obama. Instead, we’d likely be watching the final days of a Clinton-Romney contest—and I suspect Hillary would be heading for a landslide (if you doubt me, just watch this clip of her talking about the financial crisis).

It is an interesting question as to whether 9/11 or the financial crisis will do more to realign US politics. Certainly, the days when people talked about how national security might turn New Jersey into a battleground state seem a long time ago now.