Last week, an Iowa reporter noticed Sen. Barack Obama was no longer wearing the flag lapel pin politicians commonly wear to express patriotism. Mr. Obama replied that he was not going to wear the pin anymore noting, "Instead, I'm going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great. Hopefully, that will be a testimony to my patriotism."

Mr. Obama has expressed his patriotism in many ways since he burst onto the political scene in 2004, but perhaps the best example came Oct. 2, 2002 when he publicly stated his opposition to the looming Iraq war.

"I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences," he said. "I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaida. I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars."

Mr. Obama's early stance on the Iraq war proves he is the best choice to lead the United States toward the change it so desperately needs, not only because he was the only leading candidate to oppose the war from the beginning, but also because it displays Mr. Obama's greatest attribute — judgment.

Last week, on the fifth anniversary of his first Iraq speech, Mr. Obama once again challenged conventional Washington thinking, laying out his plans for ending the war in Iraq and proving why his past choices show he has "the best judgment to make the critical decisions for the future."

"We're not going to be safe in a world of unconventional threats with the same old conventional thinking that got us into Iraq," Mr. Obama said. "We're not going to unify a divided America to confront these threats with the same old conventional politics of just trying to beat the other side."

Mr. Obama recognizes that we must learn our lesson from Iraq and change conventional foreign policy thinking. Invading and occupying other countries is not the answer to the unconventional threats posed by al-Qaida, and only by getting out of Iraq and onto the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan will the war against terrorism ever be won.

Another way to fight terrorism is to prevent the spread of nuclear materials into dangerous hands. By securing all nuclear weapons at vulnerable sites within four years and renewing our commitment to nonproliferation efforts, Mr. Obama's plan looks to cut off efforts by terrorist organizations to acquire these weapons at the source. In addition, by working with Russia and other nuclear powers to reduce nuclear stockpiles and ban intermediate-range missiles, Mr. Obama will ultimately strive for a nuclear-free world.

The most important part of Mr. Obama's foreign policy plan is to challenge the conventional Washington thinking when it comes to diplomacy. "This will require a new era of American diplomacy," Mr. Obama said last week. "To signal the dawn of that era, we need a president who is willing to talk to all nations, friend and foe. I'm not afraid that America will lose a propaganda battle with a petty tyrant. We need to go before the world and win those battles."

Our unwillingness to talk to Iran and Syria has already done us great harm in the fight against terrorism. Iran continues to build its nuclear weapons program and support the terrorists our military fights every day, and Syria continues to meddle in Lebanon and support terrorists there as well. Similarly, our refusal to talk to North Korea has allowed it to produce nuclear material.

Mr. Obama believes we must talk to our adversaries if we ever wish to state our positions directly and with force. History shows us that talking to our enemies works — President John F. Kennedy had a direct line to Nikita Khrushchev, and the Cold War would not have ended if President Ronald Reagan refused to negotiate with Mikhail Gorbachev. Some of the greatest strategic victories in our nation's history have come as a result of diplomacy, and only a comprehensive shift in this strategy will bring a victory in the war against terrorism.

When America elects a Democrat in 2008, the Iraq war will come to an end, but Mr. Obama's plan to shift our approach to foreign policy represents the best way forward in the Middle East. Some say Mr. Obama doesn't have the experience necessary to be president, but experience doesn't matter if you don't have enough judgment to do what's best for America.

This judgment is Mr. Obama's testimony to his patriotism: On the issues that matter most to the American people, Mr. Barack Obama will not need a second chance to get it right.

Bryon Eagon ([email protected]) is the fundraising and logistics chair for Students for Obama.