All of these catastrophes make Bush's bragging about his foreign policy experience laughable. He has claimed credit for bringing the Cold War to a successful end, ignoring that it was Ronald Reagan who presided over (and, with all his militarism, almost overturned) the end of the bipartisan effort to defeat communism. And Bush not only dismisses the contributions of Democrats (the ones who began containment), he shamelessly ignores the people of Eastern Europe, whose defiance of despotism was an important ingredient in communism's fall.

It seems clear now that Bush simply isn't prepared to wage the new kind of foreign policy that he himself called the New World Order. His ideas about foreign affairs have been immutably shaped by Cold War assumptions--assumptions that Bush thinks demanded practicality, not ideology. In an age without a clear foreign policy conflict--without one, overriding international divide--ideology is indispensible.

In Bill Clinton, voters have a clear commitment to democratic ideals. Clinton has blasted Bush on China and Haiti, and has indicated his desire to predicate foreign policy less on balance-of-power considerations and more on opposing tyranny. His recommendations on Bosnia--to begin limited air strikes and help the Bosnians with weapons--even embarrassed the Bush administration into taking a firmer line on the conflict. With Clinton, it seems clear that American foreign policy will work more toward democracy and human rights.

Most important, Clinton understands that the best foreign policy begins by guaranteeing economic security at home. As he said in Los Angeles recently, "An anemic, debt-laden economy undermines our diplomacy, makes it harder for us to secure favorable trade agreements and compromises our ability to finance essential military actions."

Clinton says he will make the necessary, responsible cuts in the defense budget that Bush will not. He says he will deemphasize the Star Wars program and downsize the U.S. presence in Europe appropriately. And he and running mate Al Gore have a sensible and forward-looking plan to convert defense industries to productive elements of the civilian economy.

Will Clinton make good on these promises? We can never be sure. But for now, his promises are better than Bush's record. And better than Ross Perot's one-liners.

George Bush will likely lose the election on November 3 for reasons that have nothing to do with foreign policy. But it's in this area where some of Bush's worst failures become apparent. In the end, he should probably be glad voters aren't focusing too much on foreign affairs.