As everyone knows, there's an ongoing back and forth between Sen. Obama and President Bush/Sen. McCain about Obama's plan to meet with state leader's without preconditions. The Republican's are doing everything they can to define Obama before the general election proper even starts, and I'm frankly proud to say Sen Obama has more than risen to the occasion.

Sen. McCain has trotted out the same old attacks that have brought down Democrats before, that they are naive and weak. Sen. Obama responds with what all of us have been yelling at the TV every time we see a Democrat act apologetic for being rational about foreign policy. Acting tough may make us feel good, but it accomplishes nothing. All the great moments of progress we've had happened because our leaders were willing to talk to our enemies, no matter how dire the situation.

Here's the truth: the Soviet Union had thousands of nuclear weapons, and Iran doesn't have a single one. But when the world was on the brink of nuclear holocaust, Kennedy talked to Khrushchev and he got those missiles out of Cuba. Why shouldn't we have the same courage and the confidence to talk to our enemies? That's what strong countries do, that's what strong presidents do, that's what I'll do when I'm president of the United States of America.

And then, the final bit, that takes this from a firm rebuttal to the perfect framing that we should have adopted a long time ago:

Why shouldn't we have the same courage and the competence to talk to our enemies?   That is what strong countries do -- that is what strong presidents do. That is what I will do as president of the United States of America.

...

Demanding that a country meets all your conditions before you meet, before you meet with them -- that is not a strategy. It is just naïve, wishful thinking. I'm not afraid that we will lose some propaganda fight with a dictator. It's time for America to win those battles because we have watched George Bush lose them year after year after year.

It's a pleasant surprise to watch the Democrat go on the offense about foreign policy and national security, and I'm personally looking forward to watching the Republicans get this kind of trouncing for the next six months.