Comment on U.S. foreign aid success touted

DES MOINES — How the U.S. should address conflicts in the Middle East has become a dominant issue in the presidential campaign.Michael Gerson hopes another foreign policy issue — U.S. foreign aid — also grabs a piece of the debate and continues to get support from the next president.Gerson, a Washington Post columnist and fellow for ONE, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to ending extreme poverty and disease around the globe, said this week during a visit to Iowa that the organization is building up in Iowa to inform presidential candidates and encourage them to continue foreign-aid programs should they be elected.“Every four years, ONE has had an effort in the early primary states and early caucus states to try to encourage Republicans and Democrats to support the accounts in our government that are used for foreign aid and diplomacy,” said Gerson, who served as a speech writer and policy aide for President George W.