When Harry Truman was President, he said that “the buck stops at his table” in the Oval Office. In a metaphorical sense, the change that presidential aspirant Sen. Barack Obama talks about may not be worth a buck. Perhaps the “change” that Mr. Obama talks about is loose change (sic) amounting to less-than a dollar bill. Here is why . . .

Any presidential contender, especially a young newcomer to the corridors of power in Washington, DC, can talk of making a change, if not changes, in the way policies and decisions are made. But change is good only when it can be had.

Even in matters of foreign relations and policy, it seems that Senator Obama is exhibiting his inexperience and naiveté. If we recall one of his statements during one of the presidential debates, Mr. Obama said that he, as a newly-elected President of the United States, would go – even if uninvited – to visit enemies of the United States like Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro and the ayatollahs of Iran, so that he could change (sic) their hostility into cooperation. That statement could only be uttered by a man who really lacks the experience to handle foreign affairs. Even then President Richard Nixon started a new era of cooperation with the Bamboo Curtain by taking advantage of the visiting Chinese ping-pong players and sending his foreign-relations experts at the State Department to conduct secret talks and negotiations with the People’s Republic of China for a considerable length of time. Only after a workable agenda for a State Visit to Beijing were worked out behind the scene did President Nixon announce his historic trip to China and perhaps drink tea with its leaders. By contrast, Senator Obama behaves as if he was just born yesterday. Obviously, the field of foreign relations is not Mr. Obama’s cup of tea (pun intended).

Change is good only when it can be had.

Senator Obama talks of pulling out immediately the American soldiers in Iraq when and if he becomes the President. Any young student of geopolitics knows that ending the American presence in Iraq or anywhere else in the Middle East is easier said than done. The truth is that the United States is committed to a long-term presence in the Middle East, be it from the military, diplomatic or economic sense and/or a combination of all of them. Why? The Middle East is still the biggest supplier of crude oil to the United States and the Free World. And secondly, only the support of the United States and its allies in Europe assures the continued existence of Israel. And until American politicians are able to cut off their umbilical cords to the Jewish-American lobby, the United States will have to continue to guarantee the survival of the Jewish homeland, which may be the right thing to do in the first place.

Perhaps Senator Obama does not realize that the occupant of the Oval Office is not only Earth’s most-powerful leader but also the American President happens to be the world’s Chief of Police.

The world remains a very dangerous place. Electing a rookie as President may not be the most-intelligent choice that American voters may do this year or in any election year for that matter. While rookies excel even in the World Series or other sports, the presidency requires experienced hands. With barely three years of experience in the United States Senate, Mr. Obama certainly needs like nine more years in Capitol Hill, just to match the combined House-and-Senate experience of then Sen. John F. Kennedy – before he became the President.

Our fellow columnist, Jesse Jose, has endorsed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as the nominee of the Democrats and Sen. John McCain as the Republican standard bearer. The United States needs not only an experienced leader to become President but also a person who has a track record of forging coalitions or strategic alliances. It would help also if the new President has undergone a personal test of courage and overcome it.

Editor Notes: To read Mr. Jose’s views on the current presidential campaign,

please click this link A Cup O' Kapeng Barako.

Mr. McCain had his courage tested in the Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam War. Sen. Hillary Clinton managed to keep her wits and her family intact and indirectly helped save the presidency of her husband, during the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.

This column believes that if Mrs. Clinton is elected President, the First Gentleman would serve as her most-experienced adviser like no other in the history of the United States. A “second” Clinton presidency, or for that matter, a McCain presidency, would do extremely well in promoting the interests of the United States abroad and in protecting the American homeland from external threats.

This column approves, therefore, the choices of our columnist Jesse Jose, which are shared by many members of the Media Breakfast Club of Los Angeles and the founders of the budding “Filipino-American Reagan-Democrats’ Club.” # # #

To read Jesse Jose's follow-up article on the "change" agenda of Senator Obama, please click on this link,