The upcoming primary elections in the United States receive a lot of attention from around the globe. As the war in Iraq continues, the world is united around one, universal hot-button topic. Today more than ever, the ongoing campaign leading up to the American presidential election takes the form of an international political event.

Axess Magazine decided to sit down and listen to two men from opposite sides of the American political spectrum; Robert Shapiro worked as undersecretary of commerce for economic affairs under Clinton. He is also the founder of the Progressive Policy Institute. David Frum has been one of George W Bush’s speechwriters and is today working at the American Enterprise Institute. They agreed to share their respective views on the United States’ future role in international affairs, the political divide between Europe and the US, and what to expect in the presidential election campaign.