WASHINGTON — Should labor and the Democrats revive the muscular liberal internationalism of Albert Shanker? That was the title of a panel discussion Wednesday, sponsored by Freedom House, the Progressive Policy Institute and the Albert Shanker Institute. Shanker was a legendary leader of the New York City teachers union, who became president of the American Federation of Teachers. A liberal on many domestic issues, he was staunchly anti-communist and fought vigorously for the freedom of the Warsaw Pact nations in Eastern Europe, including providing help as fledgling free labor movements cropped up in those countries and challenged both Communist hegemony and the role of the official, government-backed trade unions.

In that sense, Shanker was a throwback to the no-nonsense foreign policy favored by Democratic icons such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy – policies that served the nation and the party well. Along with traditional foreign policy, Shanker understood that the security of America and the wellbeing of American workers were tied to the freedom of their counterparts overseas to organize unions and fight for a better life.

The discussion’s title might seem esoteric, but it’s important in both a practical and a political sense. In a dangerous and interconnected world, what type of military and foreign policy stance makes the most sense? Aside from getting out of Iraq, what are the goals of liberals and Democrats and how do they plan to make the nation safer? And as either Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. Hillary Clinton prepare to face Sen. John McCain – a military authority, retired Navy aviator and combat veteran — what will they propose, other than criticizing his willingness to stay in Iraq for 100 years?

Wednesday’s discussion featured scholars and labor leaders highly knowledgeable about these topics. Richard Kahlenberg of the Century Foundation wrote the marvelous new book, “Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles over Schools, Unions, Race, and Democracy.” Will Marshall is president of the Progressive Policy Institute, while Carl Gershman is president of the National Endowment for Democracy. Arch Puddington, director of research at Freedom House, wrote a top-notch book called “Lane Kirkland: Champion of Labor,” about the former AFL-CIO president. Harold Meyerson is a syndicated columnist and an editor at The American Prospect. And Herb Magidson is former vice president of the American Federation of Teachers and board member of the Shanker Institute.

Calls on the campaign trail for change or for competency are fine, as are criticisms of the current administration’s foreign and military policies, but it might be advisable for the Democratic candidates to spend more time articulating what they hope to achieve beyond our borders, and how they’ll go about it.