Voters' new focus on foreign policy experience could reshuffle U.S. presidential race

Top Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton could benefit from the Paris terror attacks, as Republican front-runners face increasing scrutiny for lack of foreign policy experience in the 2016 U.S. presidential race, experts said.

The Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris, which killed 130 people and injured over 350 others, have put foreign policy at center stage of the U.S. presidential race.

Top Republican Party (GOP) presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ben Carson, both political outsiders, are facing problems due to lack of foreign policy experience, while Clinton is set to gain advantage as she served as secretary of state in the first term of the administration under President Barack Obama.

This is demonstrated in the case of Carson, who is trailing Trump by just a few points in the polls. He is coming under increasing U.S. media scrutiny at a time when Americans are increasingly worried about a terror attack on U.S. soil.

Carson, a retired surgeon, admitted recently that he is learning foreign policy on the job, something for which critics are blasting him.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest was even speechless at a recent news briefing when asked about Carson's apparently unfounded assertion that China has military involvement in Syria. Carson's statement was also rejected by top U.S. officials including National Security Advisor Susan Rice.

"This and other examples of inexperience will hurt as the contest intensifies," Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, told Xinhua.

Brookings Institution's senior fellow Darrell West said that in an era of terrorist attacks and foreign crises, voters will want the next president to have foreign policy expertise.

"Those without foreign policy experience will be at a disadvantage with voters," West said.

West added that the Paris attacks have elevated foreign policy, which is likely to be more central to the campaign discussion.

"Candidates such as Carson with little foreign policy experience will need to demonstrate their knowledge and ability to handle pressing international issues. If they don't meet some minimum threshold, that will be a big problem in the presidential election," he said.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio, now the third among GOP candidates, has more foreign policy experience than Trump and Carson.

Still, different candidates have various strengths and styles, experts said.

"If voters want someone who will shake up foreign policy and confront adversaries, Trump has the advantage. Some voters like his tough rhetoric," West said.

However, other voters want someone who is more knowledgeable about foreign policy, and they will view Rubio as the best alternative, as he now serves on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

CLINTON'S FOREIGN POLICY EXPERIENCE A ADVANTAGE OR DISADVANTAGE?

Now that foreign policy experience has become important for candidates in the wake of Paris attacks, that could be an advantage for Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, who is likely to face off against the GOP nominee.

"On one hand she has extensive experience, which will comfort voters in the general election," Zelizer said.

Indeed, if Trump or Carson to grab the GOP nomination, it will be very difficult for them to face off with Clinton in a debate on foreign policy.

But, on the other hand, Clinton is connected to President Obama, whose record will come under more challenge, Zelizer said.

Obama is being lambasted by critics who say his ineffective bombing campaign against Islamic State (IS), which claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks, is more of a publicity campaign rather than an effort to seriously destroy the terrorists.

Some critics have blamed the Obama administration for failing to contain the IS threat, contending that its reluctance to take the threat seriously has resulted in the Paris attacks.

If Republicans can link Clinton, who was Secretary of State under the Obama administration, to all of this, that could hurt her run for the White House, experts said. Enditem