WASHINGTON — When Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) meet Thursday for their debate, conservatives should have no doubt that the Wisconsinite can debate any and all fiscal issues. What they do not know is if the budget wonk can go global.
So how will Ryan engage with Biden on foreign policy?
There are few who can match Biden’s experience in this area. He was the ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations from 1997 until 2009, when he became vice president. In his new role, Biden helped secure Senate approval of a nuclear arms reduction treaty and traveled to Iraq eight times as part of his responsibilities to end that war.
On the other side, Ryan has often used a quote to sum up his foreign policy experience.
“Overseas, and where I’m from we call that Lake Superior.”
However, Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign has recently amped up efforts to make foreign policy a key differentiator between their candidate and President Barack Obama. Romney gave a speech on Monday at the Virginia Military Institute that, while lacking specifics, positioned himself as both tougher and more compassionate than Obama.
Experts say Ryan will likely follow the content of this speech closely in the debate.
“That will be his bible. He’s not going to say anything that Romney hasn’t, he would be crazy to,” said William Galston, senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institute.
“It’s certainly the launch pad for his foreign policy talking points,” said Isobel Coleman, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Ryan gave a speech Monday in Ohio right after Romney’s address in Virginia. He bashed Obama’s inaction in Syria, a deteriorating relationship with Israel and echoed Romney’s fear that Iran was “racing toward nuclear capability.”
Both Romney and Ryan implied their administration would get involved more heavily in the Middle East, but this would not be a popular position with Americans. According to a recent study by the Brookings Institute on US public opinion towards Arabs and Islam, only 14 percent of adult Americans think the US should increase its diplomatic involvement in the Middle East.
“The theme ‘it’s time for some nation-building here at home’ is widely supported by the American public,” Galston said Monday at the release of the study’s findings.
Galston was referring to the current struggling economy, which he said is the priority for most Americans as opposed to getting involved in the struggle for democracy globally.
The study that was released, “Americans on the Middle East: A Study of American Public Opinion,” does suggest Ryan will have opportunities to take the side of the public against Obama’s policies in the debate.
Fifty-nine percent of Americans support a no-fly zone over Syria, and Ryan pushing for one would be in line with Romney’s message that he would be tougher than Obama. Tough talk about Egypt may also play well, with 71 percent of Americans supporting decreasing aid, including 29 percent that want it stopped all together.
As Ryan is the chairman of the House Budget Committee and the author of “the Ryan Budget,” it is likely he will want to delve deeply into fiscal issues. However, the speeches this week, Biden’s experience and the Romney/Ryan ticket’s relative inexperience could make foreign policy a Democratic attack point.
While Ryan can parry with Obama’s similar level of inexperience in 2008, these polls show he may also have an opportunity to attack on the subject. If he is effective, he can help turn foreign policy, once seen as a clear edge for Democrats, into disputed territory.
The vice presidential debate is at 9 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11 at Centre College in Danville, KY.