The Crawl to the White House: Foreign Policy and Other Matters

The primary season is off and running and though it is far too early to make any calls on the Democratic or Republican side, some common recurring themes are coming to the forefront. First of all, this has been branded as a "change" election. One thing we need to keep in mind before voting for change, any change, is that the U.S. has experienced over six years of terror-free soil since the tragic events of September 11th, 2001. In the media's rush to condemn anything and everything connected to the Bush administration, people have not been adequately reminded that America was once undeniably under siege by Islamic radical terrorists and the administration has admirably held our enemies at bay. In addition, General Petraeus has done a yeoman's job in making some progress against America's and the Iraqi people's enemies in Iraq. And not at all whispered about in the media is our war in Afghanistan, which requires recognition, if not just for the benefit of those men and women who have done a great job in difficult conditions. Second of all, there is a lack of real debate in each contest on most matters. For the Democrats, there is a showdown between Obama and Clinton on the Iraq War, but Clinton has backed off of her decision to authorize the President to go to war in Iraq in order to try to quell the left fringe, and thus has shunned taking responsibility in a manner becoming of a president. Obama, for his part, has the credit of being against the war from the start, even if people disagree with him. But Obama, like Edwards, has been naively pro-diplomacy with any dictator at any time regardless of the circumstances, and this bodes unwell for the United States in a time of war not just in Iraq and Afghanistan, but with terrorist radicals of various ilks around the world. On the Republican side, Giuliani has the clout needed to convince terrorists that the U.S. means business and its better to come to the peace table sooner rather than later. The U.S. cannot allow Iran to get deliverable nuclear weapons, regardless of how much various American corporations like Conoco and ChevronTexaco would like to cash in on the huge Iranian oil fields (these companies sit on the AIC, the American Iranian Council, which pushes for normalizing relations between America and Iran). It is clear that Giuliani has the fire in his belly to fend off various interests who would sacrifice American security on the alter of profits. His record is also strong in many areas, if not imperfect. Other Republican candidates have various other unforgivable flaws. Ron Paul is spot on in his fiscal policy positions, but is far too naive about foreign affairs. Romney appears to be a fake who wants to buy the presidency, McCain is an absolutely horrible candidate due to his immigration non-stance and bills like McCain-Feingold that are ultimately anti-Constitutional. Huckabee has some strong points, such as being articulate and bright, but the evangelical label will hold him back from the presidency, along with a record as a governor of Arkansas that many take issue with. Fred Thompson, in my view, appears old and lethargic. as well as inarticulate, even if he is the most conservative as Rush contends. Thirdly, the race is boiling down to personality and not issues. The lack of difference amongst the candidates in their respective parties accentuates the tendency in elections for voters to vote for candidates for subjective reasons. And thus Hillary can get a huge uptick in New Hampshire for crying at a coffee shop and magazines like Newsweek can smear Giuliani by insinuating that he is in with the mafia, even though his record proves that he diminished crime greatly. The media thus has full play to distort and contort the electorate into voting for the next president based on image. The media will anoint the next "king" whether or not that person is ready to deal with the harsh realities of the current international climate.

This article is from Point/Counterpoint (http://pointvcounterpoint.blogspot.com)