McCain is going first with a trip to Mexico and Columbia next week. Not to be outdone, Obama has two trips planned so far - a five-country junket through England, France, Germany, Israel and Jordan; and a second trip later in the summer to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Look for free trade to be the topic of McCain's trip - he is a supporter of a proposed trade agreement with Columbia and a backer of NAFTA (a treaty Obama has talked about renegotiating). Obama, meanwhile, will likely use his trips to pump up his foreign policy credentials. Europe is already excited about the prospect of an Obama presidency, so expect him to use warm welcomes in the EU countries as a way of boosting his argument for change.
McCain boxed him into visiting to Iraq and Afghanistan this spring by challenging him to a joint trip. McCain was critical of Obama for opposing the war in Iraq while only visiting the country once (McCain, a strong backer of the war, has visited seven times). This trip will be Obama's second to Iraq and first to Afghanistan.
It will be interesting to see how the camps spin the visits of both their candidate and their opponent.
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