Obama prepares tour of Middle East, Europe

WASHINGTON -- For Barack Obama, the road to the White House is about to take a 12,000-mile detour.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee will try to boost his resume next week with a five-country European and Middle Eastern tour that threatens to turn into Obamapalooza.

In contrast to the low-key coverage of Republican John McCain's European and Middle East trip in March, Obama will be accompanied by a campaign plane of reporters and trailed by three network broadcast anchors. McCain got some headlines but did not have a traveling press corps.

Obama is "going to be a rock star," said James Thurber, an American University political scientist who recently taught a course in Brussels. "Expectations are high," agreed Christian Hacke, a retired professor of foreign policy at the University of Bonn. "I think too high."

Obama lived in Indonesia as a child but lacks the foreign policy experience of McCain, a Navy veteran and the top-ranking GOP member of the Senate's Armed Services Committee.

Obama leads McCain in the latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll. But when asked whether each candidate can handle the responsibilities of being commander in chief, 80% said McCain ... // 62% Remaining