Obama Defends Experience, Battles McCain for Commander-in-Chief Trust

July 23, 2008— -- Sen. Barack Obama defended his whirlwind tour of the Middle East and Europe, admitting he may be new to the international scene but arguing he can be a trusted commander-in-chief.

"The main purpose of the trip from my perspective is looking at some of the most critical issues that the next president is going to have to deal with and developing some relationships that I think might be useful in solving some of those problems," Obama, D-Ill., told ABC News' Charlie Gibson in an interview for "World News."

It's the elephant -- so to speak -- looming in every room of Obama's foreign tour: is the freshman senator who, only four years ago, served in the Illinois state senate experienced enough to be president?

WATCH MORE OF CHARLIE'S INTERVIEW WITH BARACK OBAMA IN ISRAEL ON "WORLD NEWS" WEDNESDAY AT 6:30 PM ET ON ABC

When asked by Gibson about questions surrounding his youth and inexperience, Obama replied, "Well, in order to deal with the first problem, that I'm very young, I'm cropping a lot of gray hair over the last year and a half. But there is no doubt that as somebody who has not been in the national political scene as long as John McCain, that people are going to have more questions, and I think that's perfectly appropriate."

Obama's weeklong tour has a dual purpose: showcasing Obama on the world stage and easing doubts about his experience at home.

In a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, 72 percent of Americans -- even most Democrats -- say Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., would be a good commander-in-chief of the military.

Perhaps even more urgent for the Obama camp, fewer than half -- 48 percent -- say Obama would be a good commander-in-chief, a significant weakness on this measure.

Thomas Friedman, author of "The World is Flat," says Obama's trip may be a good start toward addressing those concerns.

"As someone who is a columnist and deals with foreign affairs, my motto is: if you don't go, you don't know," Friedman told ABC News' Diane Sawyer in an interview on "Good Morning America" Wednesday. "I've never taken a trip abroad that I didn't learn something by interacting with the people on the ground, smelling, hearing, listening and I'm sure [Obama] has as well."