Monday, October 22, 2012

The Final Presidential Debate

Most voters are not focused on foreign policy issues, unless one candidate or another is a flaming bomb-thrower who can't be trusted with the nuclear football. So, tonight's final Presidential debate should be "advantage Obama" given some demonstrable successes, which he'll hopefully have the good sense to highlight.

For his slippery opponent, pathological liar Willard "I'll Say Anything" Romney, the job becomes one of repeating "apology," "appeasement," and "China" over and over again. Here's Ed Kilgore's take on the match up:
"Perhaps the strategic calculation of the Romney campaign is that having drawn even with Obama via mendacious positioning on domestic issues, his job tonight is to look 'responsible' and reduce the impression that he’s going to bring the exact same crowd that gave us the Iraq disaster back into power, just as determined to launch a war with Iran right now as they were to launch a war with Iraq when they gained power in 2001. But in a campaign where foreign policy has simply offered Romney martial background music for his main pitch, focusing on it for 90 minutes without visibly frothing for war or looking like a stooge for defense contractors or his friend Bibi won’t be easy. My guess is that he’ll spend much of the debate trying to change the subject back to the economy under the tired but ever-ready argument that America is getting sand kicked in its face on the international beach because of its economic puniness. So we need a good strong domestic austerity plan to buff ourselves up. It makes no real sense at all, but the good thing about Mitt Romney as a candidate is that he can say the most astounding things with a straight face."
Obama might want to ask Willard who is advising him on foreign and national security policy, and see if the names John "The 'Stache" Bolton and Dan "Bibi's Bud" Senor come up.

No comments: