Stumping in Newport News, Albright praises Obama

NEWPORT NEWS

Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois is the presidential candidate who can lead the United States, work with other nations and restore the world's confidence in democracy, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told more than 400 people Saturday at Christopher Newport University's Ferguson Center for the Arts.

"I think he has a 21st-century vision for these 21st-century problems," Albright said. "I am so admiring of the way he thinks."

Albright, who became the country's first female secretary of state under President Bill Clinton, was in Newport News for the first of three stops Saturday in Virginia, supporting Obama in a state she believes will be crucial in the November election.

Audience members said the 71-year-old was charming and down-to-earth as she made the case for Obama, took humorous swipes at the Bush administration, and stayed completely away from criticizing Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

"She tried to be realistic, and she didn't pull any punches," said Taylor Sharp, a Christopher Newport University junior.

In a 20-minute speech followed by questions from the audience, Albright outlined the big "umbrella issues" that will be facing America's next president as he takes on an increasingly unstable global situation. A new president will have to fight terrorists without creating more of them, forge new nuclear weapons agreements, and "restore the good name of democracy," she said.

"I don't think I've ever seen the world in such a mess," said Albright, who served as secretary of state from 1997 to 2001.

Albright said the war in Iraq "will go down in history as the greatest disaster in American foreign policy."

She said the next president will have to find a way to manage the instability in Pakistan, where a truck bomb at the entrance to a Marriott hotel killed at least 40 people this weekend. That will be a difficult task, Albright said.

"Pakistan has everything that gives you an international migraine," she said.

Albright described the situation in Iran as scary. American leaders know little of what's brewing in Iran, which has emerged from the war in Iraq as a regional power, she said. "We do not know what they're doing," she said.

Albright repeatedly took crowd-pleasing jabs at the Bush administration while promoting Obama as a more thoughtful, better listener than Bush.

"I want a president who's confident and not certain," she said. "I don't want a certain president who doesn't even know what he doesn't know."

She also urged new efforts to discuss matters with Russia and Iran, once again pumping up Obama while taking a subtle swipe at Bush. "Barack Obama believes you should actually talk to the people you don't like," she said to cheers from the crowd.

Even in later interviews with local media, Albright stayed away from slamming McCain or Palin. She also made it clear that she had no intention of reclaiming her old job under Obama.

"I'm not doing this in order to be a part of the administration," she said. "I'm doing this because he is the best candidate."

Mike Saewitz, (757) 222-5207, mike.saewitz@pilotonline.com