Monday night’s foreign policy debate. In this debate, “foreign” might as well mean “unknown” or “unfamiliar” and not it’s appropriate definition of “concerned with another country”. It’s hard to argue that Americans have a strong, steady pulse on events and situations outside our borders. There are pockets of people who keep up, but it’s just our American nature to rest on our laurels of being the greatest superpower of all time. What do you mean China is manipulating its currency? SOFA? Huh? Wait a minute. Libya and Egypt are in Africa? Where is Latin America? Oh, wow! Ships that go underwater are nuclear submarines?
No, ships that go underwater are sunk; and just as the Titanic was legendarily known as, “unsinkable”, it appears President Obama may suffer that same legacy. Just as the Titanic should have never sailed with the exuberance of its record-breaking status overriding the weaknesses which caused its demise, neither should have candidate Obama won with the euphoria of voting in America’s first black president overriding his comparative inexperience which has caused America’s current decline. (By the way, submarines are called boats, not ships.)
In 2008, the spiraling economy gave life to Senator Obama’s presidential bid. Back then, Mr. Jim Lehrer began the first debate with a hauntingly similar sentiment to what Governor Romney said at this last debate about our economy being key to America being strong and being able to lead. Mr. Lehrer said, “Let me begin with something General Eisenhower said in his 1952 presidential campaign. Quote, ‘We must achieve both security and solvency. In fact, the foundation of military strength is economic strength,’ end quote.” That 2008 debate was slated to cover foreign policy and national security, but the financial crisis took center stage and Senator McCain’s best asset, his military career, was sidelined. Like some affirmative action program gone awry, it was perfectly fine Senator Obama had the least practical experience of the other candidates on both tickets– Senator Biden, Senator McCain, and yes, even Governor Palin. In fact, setting aside prejudices and party politics, Governor Palin, as a vice-presidential candidate, had the most executive experience of all the candidates. She was a mayor and a governor. Remember, the President heads the Executive Branch and she was the only one to hold elected executive positions. To be fair, keep in mind, the only constitutional eligibilities to the Office of the President are citizenship, age, and residency, so Senator Obama was definitely eligible to pursue and win the presidency.
It seems fitting the last presidential debate of 2012 would be about foreign policy with the frail economy taking center stage. Witness the rise and fall of Barack Obama. Death by economy, but bad habits die hard. Even when it’s obnoxiously evident the economy is the primary problem, there are those who will vote to re-elect President Obama. As a friendly reminder, the social policy side of the coin is also dependent on a strong economy. Even if President Obama wins re-election, his fall from grace is tragic and evident.
Then there’s Mr. Undecided, Mr. Kerry Ladka, the gentleman who asked the Benghazi security question at the town hall debate and was subsequently catapulted to his 15 minutes of fame. On Greta Van Susteren ‘s show, “On the Record”, even Mr. Ladka seemed to begrudgingly admit this election would be won based on the economics, not foreign policy. Conspicuously missing are any details of his thoughts on the foreign policy positions of each candidate and how that plays into his decision making. Seems like the Debate Commission could have skipped this one. Even after this fourth, and hallelujah!, final debate, he, and others, are still undecided (really?! &*$^@%#); however, he did give some insight into his uncommitted status. He likes President Obama’s social policy, but loves Governor Romney’s economic expertise. Mr. Ladka’s story may be a premonition of how things shake out election night. Currently, of the six co-workers with the brain trust at Global Telecom Supply, he’s the remaining undecided. One is for Obama, and four are for Romney. A bettin’ woman would place her money on Mr. Ladka pulling the handle for Governor Romney.
By: Cynthia Shaffer
Political & Cultural Blogger
