US Democratic White House challenger John Kerry has proposed a national security strategy to repair the damage he says was caused by President George W. Bush's go-it-alone bullying.
"There is still a powerful yearning around the world for an America that listens and leads again - an America that is respected, and not just feared," Mr Kerry declared in what was billed as a major policy address that he also used to step up his criticism of Mr Bush's handling of Iraq.
John Kerry
Although Mr Kerry vowed to set a different tone than Mr Bush, just how his foreign policy would deviate remains unclear, and on key issues, such as Iraq and Israel, the two share plenty of common ground.
Mr Kerry said the president and his administration had squandered the trust and respect the United States had built up around the world in times when "we extended a hand, not a fist".
"They [the administration] looked to force before exhausting diplomacy," Mr Kerry said. "They bullied when they should have persuaded. They have gone it alone when they should have assembled a team."
Mr Kerry outlined a security strategy based on four "principled imperatives": building a new era of US-led alliances; modernising the military to meet fresh threats; better use of diplomatic, intelligence and economic power, and freeing America from its "dangerous dependence" on Mideast oil.
"As president, my number one security goal will be to prevent the terrorists from gaining weapons of mass murder," Mr Kerry said. "Because al-Qaeda is a network with many branches, we must take the fight to the enemy on every continent and enlist other countries in that cause."
Mr Kerry unveiled his proposal three days after Bush delivered a speech to try to ease worldwide concerns about his embattled efforts in war-torn Iraq.
These concerns have helped pull Mr Bush's approval ratings to below 50 per cent, the lowest of his presidency. Surveys show Mr Kerry running even or slightly ahead of the Republican incumbent in the race for the White House.
A spokesman for the Bush campaign dismissed Mr Kerry's speech as "harsh political rhetoric" that included no new initiatives separate from what Mr Bush has already proposed.