Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told a Florida crowd that national security dangers lurk and should not be ignored amid the financial crisis. He mentioned as one potential crisis “the success of the Iranian regime in its program of acquiring nuclear weapons,” which he said could threaten Israel or spark “an uncontrollable nuclear arms race across the region.”

Separately, McCain said Wednesday he would increase revenue from offshore drilling (AP) for Florida and other coastal states.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said in a speech Tuesday in Pennsylvania that his administration would “lower the cost of energy within months” through domestic drilling and investment in alternative sources like nuclear, wind, and solar.

Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin will give a policy address on energy (NYT) Wednesday in Ohio.

The International Herald Tribune takes a look at how the two campaigns’ energy policies differ.

BLOGGERS: The Washington Post looks at international blog attention to the U.S. presidential campaign.

“The price of oil is declining largely because of the market’s expectation of a broad recession that would lower demand. This is hardly a good sign of things to come, and should only add to our sense of urgency in gaining energy independence. When our economy recovers, and growth once again creates new demand, we could run into the same brick wall of rising oil and gasoline prices – and now is the time to make sure that doesn’t happen. In Washington, we can view this period of lower oil prices as just one more chance to make excuses – and on the problem of energy security, we’ve heard enough excuses. Or we can view it as an opportunity to finally confront the problem.”

–Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK), in a policy address Wednesday in Ohio.

Following a meeting with his economic advisers, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) touted his economic policy plans in a speech in Cleveland on Monday. “To incentivize investments, I have proposed that if you buy stock and hold it for a minimum of a year, your tax on that investment will be cut in half,” he said. He also promised to “make sure that the SEC enacts and enforces rules that keep our markets safe and competitive.”

In what has been billed as his “closing argument,” Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) also discussed his economic agenda in a speech Monday, highlighting his plan to create two million new jobs by rebuilding U.S. infrastructure.

ISRAEL: Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin met Monday with Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Sallai Meridor. According to Israeli officials, Palin and Meridor discussed U.S.-Israel relations and the nuclear threat from Iran.

The Miami Herald reports today that the economy is trumping U.S. policy toward Cuba as the most important important issue for voters in South Florida’s three congressional races:

In years past, Cuba has been a dominant issue and given the three hard-line Cuban-American Republicans an edge among like-minded, motivated voters. But with a faltering economy and increasingly diverse districts, the Cuba debate has largely receded to Spanish language radio as the candidates trade barbs on taxes, trade and fitness for office.

Incumbent Republican Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen are all being challenged by Democratic candidates who have benefited from the support of young Cuban-American voters who are “weary of exile politics,” according to the report.

Politico also looks at these hotly-contested races today, and considers the possibility of an end to the decades of Republican support from the Cuban-American community in the area.

U.S.-Cuba policy hasn’t played a major role in the presidential race of late, either. The issue has barely come up since Cuban Independence Day in May 2008, when Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Democratic candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) outlined their respective positions on policy toward Raul Castro’s regime.

For more on the presidential and vice-presidential candidates positions on U.S. policy toward Cuba, see this CFR.org Issue Tracker on the matter.