How will all the recent economic stress affect the U.S.’s ability to be a peacemaker in the world? McCain said that history shows that military strength depends on economic strength. McCain said he understands how to make these tough decisions and Obama does not. Obama agreed with McCain that history shows that military strength is tied to economic strength. That assessment made this analyst uneasy, and he says now is not the time to be talking about reducing U.S. peacemaking efforts around the world because economic hardships could exacerbate tensions globally. This isn’t just a matter of financial resources and the next U.S. president might be focused entirely on fixing the financial crisis, which will take focus off of other global problems, which might cause them to get worse. The U.S. is getting a lot of blame for the financial crisis and this analyst says this is already affecting U.S. integrity worldwide. The economists are still trying to figure out how to fix this crisis, so the presidential candidates can’t yet be sure what the crisis or its fix entails. This analyst says neither candidate has talked much about the tough cuts and decisions they’ll likely have to make because of the economic turmoil.