Steve Benen at the Washington Monthly dissects the supposedly “smart, competent” GOP candidate’s foreign policy credentials:
Saturday night’s debate was a disaster for Romney, at least for those who gave his answers meaningful scrutiny. The former Massachusetts governor effectively called for a trade war with China, which is hopelessly insane, and is based on Romney’s confused understanding of what’s procedurally possible at the WTO. He also called for U.S. support for “the insurgents” in Iran, apparently unaware of the fact that there are no such insurgents.
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Romney went on to say he would never negotiate with the Taliban in Afghanistan, which is naive and at odds with the assessments of all U.S. military leaders, and added that he’s both for and against withdrawal timetables.
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For all the jokes about the clowns that make up this year’s Republican presidential field, the conventional wisdom is flawed. Romney, we’re told, is the “serious” one, in large part because he speaks in complete sentences, and isn’t bad at pretending to be credible. Ultimately, though, Romney’s efforts don’t change the fact that he’s faking it — and those who understand the issues beyond a surface-level understanding surely realize the GOP frontrunner just doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
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Worse, Romney keeps failing these tests. Remember the time Romney told ABC News he would “set a deadline for bringing the troops home” from Iraq — but only if it’s a secret deadline? How about the time Romney, more than four years into the war in Iraq, said it’s “entirely possible” that Saddam Hussein hid weapons of mass destruction in Syria prior to the 2003 invasion? Or the time Romney pretended “Hezbollah and Hamas and al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood” were all the same thing? How about my personal favorite: the time Romney made the bizarre assertion that IAEA weapons inspectors were not allowed entry into Saddam Hussein’s Iraq?….
More detail at the link. But, hey, that’s the MBA credo: Sincerity is the most important thing — once you’ve learned to fake that, you’ve got it made!
Cacti
B-b-but, he saved the Olympics!
Redshift
@Cacti:
With a government bailout (shhh!)
hhex65
Not even Republicans can stand this buffoon, it’s uncanny.
Calouste
@Cacti:
Well, feather in Romney’s cap, he helped organize the last Olympics Games on American soil in his lifetime. Even all the money that NBC throws at it can’t convince the IOC to put up with crappily organized games plagued by corruption and terrorist attacks.
David Koch
Too funny.
Why do people say Mitt is the “frontrunner” and the “inevitable” nominee when he’s in 3rd place?
Chris
Watching politicians try to talk in foreign policy debates is one of the most depressing things I can do with my life. Most of the conversations don’t even betray a surface-level understanding, and it’s truly scary to think that these are the thoughts of the people controlling our fates.
(Other posters here who have other areas of expertise, like economics, education, environmental policy or what-have-you, no doubt have similar reactions when listening to them talk about that).
Martin
But that’s not failing the test. That’s answering the questions the way the primary electorate wants them answered.
Nobody on the right wants facts. They want someone to paint the world the color they want it. Whoever will dip their roller in the most colors of paint is going to win the nomination.
soonergrunt
@David Koch: Because Mitt’s consistently in 2nd/3rd while each of the others around him has risen meteorically, coasted along the top, and then self-destructed in spectacular manner.
The only way Newt can top what we’ve seen so far is for him to detonate a suicide vest on live TV.
Mike in NC
McCainRomney: “Bomb, bomb, bomb. Bomb, Bomb Iran!”Lolis
Mitt will not wear well.
wilfred
Romney has chosen Douglas Feith and Eliot Cohen as foreign policy advisors. No further comment is necessary.
David Koch
My favorite is when Mittens agreed with Perry that he would zero out Israel.
If he somehow gets the nomination that’s gonna leave a big mark. I mean, just wait until Ed Koch goes around screaming about that.
Origuy
The Village Voice has the Washington “DC” comics, featuring Mitt-Amorpho.
Joseph Nobles
Oh, gods. Gods, if you hate America, you can just leave!
Julia Grey
Douglas Feith? Really? Migaud.
Who was it who called him the stupidest man in Washington?
Martin
@Julia Grey:
Uh, everybody who lived in Washington, I think.
Suffern ACE
@Julia Grey: But if Romney has Feith, what’s the excuse for the other candidates’ foreign policy positions? Shouldn’t they all be much stronger on that?
soonergrunt
@Julia Grey: GEN Tommy Franks, then CINC CENTCOM, called Douglas Feith “the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the planet.”
The prophet Nostradumbass
This place should borrow a category from the old site Kuro5in.org, which, weirdly, is still limping along: “MLP”
Julia Grey
Hmmm…I was looking for the quote and saw that Feith was an advisor to Rick Perry. Did he recently switch camps?
McGeorge Bundy
Per NY Times breaking news at 1:05AM, the NYPD is attempting to clear Zucotti Park of all protesters.
Julia Grey
Feith has also been called “the Undersecretary of Defense for Fiascos.”
My military instincts tell me that title had an earlier, earthier formulation, containing a ruder word.
Villago Delenda Est
@Julia Grey:
I see others have attributed the assessment of Feith, correctly, to GEN Tommy Franks.
I wish Franks hadn’t held back like that, myself.
The only possible thing worse would be that utter assclown, John Bolton. Or perhaps Bill “I’m always wrong, you can bank on it!” Kristol.
Villago Delenda Est
@Julia Grey:
I cannot effing imagine what that ruder word might be…
Martin
@Julia Grey:
You know. Knowing this crew, he might be working for both.
TenguPhule
It would be the most noble thing he could do, especially if in the middle of the next live Republican Debate.
Zam
OT. Walker recall has begun, everyone in Wisc make sure to get out and sign that petition. If you already have then volunteer dammit, I don’t want to be the only one standing outside in the cold at 7am.
Shalimar
@David Koch: Mitt is the frontrunner because the money people want him and the peasant vote isn’t supposed to count.
Yutsano
@Zam: May you have much luck in increasing the unemployment rate in Wisconsin.
joel hanes
@Chris:
(Other posters here who have other areas of expertise, like economics, education, environmental policy or what-have-you, no doubt have similar reactions when listening to them talk about that)
I’ve been a computer engineer since 1981.
It is painful to listen to lawmakers talk about technology and the internet, and worse to consider the actual policies enacted.
The god-awful “PROTECT IP” act now racing toward the President’s desk could only have been written by people who know very little, understand less, and much of that wrong.
Also: never let anyone tell you that computer-based voting is anything but an invitation to stolen elections.
eemom
omg, are you people seeing what’s happening at Zuccotti Park??
MaximusNYC
OWS is being destroyed by the NYPD.
Occupiers have been evicted and everything in the camp is being reduced to trash.
The subways and the Brooklyn Bridge have been SHUT DOWN.
Reporters from major news organizations are being denied entry to the area. News choppers are forbidden from flying over. But somehow, the OWS livestream continues:
http://www.livestream.com/occupynyc
Xenos
@MaximusNYC: Time to occupy City Hall Park, I think. Absolutely need to escalate the tactics when this sort of thing happens.
Samara Morgan
I still think Romney cannot win the general.
The GOP is wholly dependent on white voters, and there is significant anti-mormon sentiment in the GOP white voter base.
The ONLY reason any “conservative” would vote for Romney is perceived electability– let there be even a whiff of unelectability clinging to Mitt’s campaign, and there will be a stampede to the current Not-romney candidate.
Samara Morgan
@Joseph Nobles: this is the process of the fall of empire.
sadly.
or the second law of thermodynamics, if you prefer Science.
Samara Morgan
@MaximusNYC:
OWS cant be destroyed by the NYPD.
dmsilev
@soonergrunt:
Hell, I’d watch.
Shlemizel
Well that means the majority of voters won’t recognize it.
Paul in KY
@wilfred: Maybe when they get together, Doug Feith won’t be the stupidest person in the room.