A former Navy pilot and prisoner of war in Vietnam, McCain, 71, has traveled extensively during his 26 years in Congress. He has made eight trips to Iraq and four to Afghanistan. In that light, Obama's journey looks like "a smart move," said Ron Kaufman, a Republican strategist. "The biggest problem would be if he didn't do it."
In planning the trip, Obama spoke with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and his staff has been working out details with U.S. embassies in the countries he will visit. Advisors signaled Friday that Obama would take pains not to overstep his role as a candidate.
"There's one president of the United States at any given time, and we will certainly honor and respect that," said Susan Rice, Obama's advisor.
In addition to Susan Rice, advisors traveling with Obama will include Anthony Lake, who was national security advisor under President Clinton; Dennis Ross, a former U.S. envoy in Middle East peace talks; and Richard J. Danzig, Navy secretary under Clinton.
It is common for candidates, especially those with scant Washington experience, to travel overseas to enhance their national-security credentials -- but not this late in a campaign.
In 1992, Democrat Bill Clinton faced a similar situation. Then governor of Arkansas, he was challenging an incumbent steeped in foreign affairs: The first President Bush, fresh from his Persian Gulf War victory, was a former vice president, U.N. ambassador, CIA director and World War II combat pilot. But in the end, said Paul Begala, a Clinton strategist, voters concluded: "He's less experienced than Bush, but he's experienced enough for me."
This week, Obama started running TV ads that trumpet his support of a law to "lock down loose nuclear weapons" and his pledge to fight "cyber-attacks." He also gave speeches on national security, stressing his call for a shift of U.S. military resources from Iraq to Afghanistan.
Obama has at times faltered in trying to prove himself. For a year, he has faced trouble for saying in a debate that he would meet without preconditions with leaders of Iran and other nations hostile to the U.S. His then-rival for the Democratic nomination, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, used the remark to suggest that he would make an unseasoned statesman, an attack McCain has echoed.
And this week, Obama called it "poor phrasing" when he told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee last month that "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided." Palestinian leaders were furious at the comment; he backpedaled the next day.
