Foreign policy is the Democratic candidate’s message du jour and Barack Obama wants you to know that he’s no namby-pamby, one-world peacenik. He believes in American leadership and says the US “is a beacon of light around the world.”

Sound Bite: “The single most important national security threat that we face is nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists . . . we have to lead the entire world to reduce that threat.”

At the Democratic candidates debate in Iowa on August 19, Senator Obama talks about a “fundamental change” in US foreign policy, Osama bin Laden and “aggressive diplomacy.”

Sound Bite: “Strong Presidents meet and talk with our adversaries.”