Barack Obama Went to Pakistan

This continues the series analyzing the Race for the White House from the Barack Obama supporter perspective. This series assumes Senator Obama will claim the nomination until proven otherwise. Most often this series will focus on a mainstream media article, opinion essay, or blogpost.

The Fall Campaign, Part II:

Today's issue: How can Barack Obama defeat Arizona Republican senator John McCain on foreign policy? How far will "real-life experience" take him against Mad Mac?

So, then, what is foreign travel truly worth? Most Americans that have the ability to spend time abroad generally do, but is there any evidence that this matters? Let us more closely examine Mr. Obama's argument:

"Foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton and Senator McCain... Experience in Washington is not knowledge of the world... This I know. When Senator Clinton brags, ‘I’ve met leaders from 80 countries,’ I know what those trips are like. I’ve been on them. You go from the airport to the embassy. There’s a group of children who do a native dance. You meet with the C.I.A. station chief and the embassy and they give you a briefing. You go take a tour of plant that with the assistance of Usaid has started something. And then, you go."

Queries:

1) Senator Obama is "probably most confident" that he grasps the world better than either his Democratic rival or likely Republican opponent? He bases this on his experience in Indonesia, his Kenyan relatives, and now a college trip to Pakistan, yet do we find this claim credible, why or why not?

2) Senator Obama seems to deliberately conflate Hillary Clinton's trips as First Lady to her journeys abroad as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Is this justified? Why or why not?

3) Why didn't Barack Obama write about his Pakistan visit earlier?

Other comments?