Obama's "pragmatist" world view

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When Russia invaded Georgia in August, Republican John McCain called for Moscow's ouster from the elite Group of Eight club of rich nations. His Democratic White House rival Barack Obama did not.

The difference offers a window into Obama's foreign policy thinking, which he describes as "pragmatist" and which combines elements of liberal internationalism and realism.

Obama criticized Russia's actions and called for reconstruction aid for Georgia but believes kicking Moscow out of the G8 would do little good and harm U.S. efforts to work with Russia on other issues.

The Russia-Georgia crisis is among many issues likely to come up in the first debate on Friday between McCain and Obama. The Oxford, Mississippi, showdown on foreign policy is the first of three debates before the November 4 election.

His campaign sees it as a chance for Obama to demonstrate his knowledge of world affairs and counter McCain's efforts to paint him as lacking the experience to be commander-in-chief.

McCain, 72, is a Vietnam veteran and former prisoner of war who has been outspoken on foreign policy during more than two decades in the Senate.

By contrast, Obama, 47, has served just four years in the Senate. But he is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has met with many foreign leaders, both in Washington and on trips abroad, including a July tour that included Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Jordan and Western Europe.

Obama's advisers say his understanding of world affairs is rooted in a childhood spent partly in Indonesia and a quest to learn about his father's Kenyan heritage, a theme of his book, "Dreams from My Father."

"He does not have the traditional Washington resume but he has the life resume," said Mark Lippert, a top foreign policy adviser.

MEASURED TONES

The Illinois senator keeps up on world affairs by reading briefing papers as well as newspapers and books. Lately, he has been reading "The Post-American World" by Fareed Zakaria and Steve Coll's "Ghost Wars," which looks at the history of the CIA in the lead-up to the September 11 attacks.

While McCain often talks tough, especially about Russia and Iran, Obama speaks in more measured tones. Recently, however, he has begun to warn of the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran.

Advisers call him "No Drama Obama" for his even temperament, and say it would serve him well in a crisis.

Obama says he would pursue more diplomacy, trying to engage adversaries like Iran and Syria with a focus not on ideology but on achieving results.

"He believes there are instances where talking to your enemies, which has been done in the past during some of the darkest days of the Cold War, for example, can play an important role and be a key tool in the toolbox for advancing our interests," Lippert said.

Obama promises a sharp break from the policies of President George W. Bush. But he has spoken favorably of some policies of former President George H.W. Bush, a moderate Republican and father of the current president.

In a July Reuters interview, he praised the ex-president's handling of the end of the Cold War.

"They didn't overreach," Obama said. "They understood that you couldn't spook the Russians or be unnecessarily provocative ... You had to coax them into permitting more freedom and not acting rashly. They understood the absolute priority of securing those nuclear weapons."

Obama views Bush's 2003 Iraq invasion, which he opposed and McCain backed, as overreaching and cites that decision to argue that his judgment is better.

McCain attacked Obama for opposing the troop surge in Iraq. But Obama stands by his insistence on removing U.S. troops within 16 months of taking office. He would focus on stabilizing Afghanistan and pursuing al Qaeda and Taliban militants in the border area of Pakistan.

Ben Rhodes, an Obama speechwriter and foreign policy aide, said the U.S. financial meltdown dramatized the need to keep limited resources focused on core interests.

"There's a finite amount of time and a finite amount of resources and in some ways our foreign policy has lost sight of that because of the overwhelming focus on Iraq," Rhodes said.

"A lot of America's leverage for a long time" has been its status as anchor of the world economy, he said. "Without sustaining that economic dominance, we will lose that leverage."

(Reporting by Caren Bohan; Editing by Alan Elsner)