Presidential campaign going abroad

By Steve Holland - Analysis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Time was when the idea of U.S. presidential candidates taking their campaigns abroad would have had their political operatives shaking their heads in amusement.

But Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are doing just that -- Obama going to Europe and the Middle East and McCain to Mexico and Colombia -- and their visits carry significant risks and rewards.

Some time before the Democratic nominating convention in late August, Obama will go to France, Germany, Britain, Jordan and Israel. Iraq and Afghanistan visits are also planned.

The first-term Illinois senator needs to convince Americans that he is not a foreign policy lightweight to inoculate himself against McCain's charge that he is naive and inexperienced.

McCain, on the other hand, has more tactical reasons for going to Latin America this week -- his popularity among Hispanics has been eroding and he urgently needs to shore it up.

Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority group in the United States and account for about 9 percent of the national electorate. They could be a critical swing voting bloc in November battleground states like Florida and in the U.S. Southwest.

"Clearly he understands that he must do better than he's doing so far with the Hispanic and Latino vote," said Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia.

McCain will also use a visit to Colombia to try to score political points against Obama on free trade. McCain wants a free trade accord with Colombia that Obama opposes.