Mediaboss Marketing

Story highlights Republican candidates see it as a no-brainer to slam Obama over Iran, ISIS and Russia GOP candidates believe voters are insecure and want a clearer vision than Obama's nuanced version of the world They must overcome Hillary Clinton's credentials as a former secretary of state, senator and first lady

But the GOP's strategy carries significant risks, not least because its candidates, though bristling with hawkish rhetoric, are notably short of hands-on foreign policy experience.

Still, the party's presidential candidates see it as a no-brainer to slam the Obama era as a time when America has snubbed its friends to talk to foes such as Iran, staged Middle East retreats that spawned ISIS and other unsavory foes and emboldened adversaries such as Russia's Vladimir Putin by ignoring red lines.

It's an especially attractive strategy because the economy -- often the top issue in presidential campaigns -- is healing, and the likely Democratic nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, can be painted as the heir of what the GOP considers President Barack Obama's disastrous foreign policy.

READ: You can trust me on foreign policy, Rand Paul says

"When the economy is less of an issue and there's a lack of stability in the world, then security becomes a huge issue," said Mike Leavitt, the former Utah governor who served as Mitt Romney's transition chief during the latter stages of his 2012 campaign.

"We find ourselves in a situation with an imperfect but improving economy, but a lot of conflict in the world."

For decades, Republicans torched Democrats in presidential elections as weak on national security. But the Iraq debacle robbed the GOP of that trick, and Obama turned the tables in 2008 and 2012.

Now the GOP wants its big stick back.

However, to get it back, the party will have to rely on candidates that don't come close to having the national security credentials of Clinton, a former secretary of state, senator and first lady. Of the dozen-odd Republican politicians making signs of running, only a few senators can credibly claim in-depth work on foreign policy issues, and even they haven't made executive decisions on par with what the presidency involves.

Continue reading here:
GOP field heavy on hawks, light on experience