US Republicans Embrace Foreign Policy Ignorance

I've already written about how Texas Governor Rick Perry hopes to capitalize on his record of executing prisonors - including innocent ones - to excite the conservative base of the Republican Party and propel him to the White House.  Der Spiegel now points out another promising angle that appears to resonate with many Americans: the leading candidates display contempt for foriegn policy competence:

Wer die Supermacht USA führen will, muss sich im Rest der Welt auskennen - oder so tun. Die Republikaner-Bewerber fürs Weiße Haus machen nun Schluss mit dieser Regel. Sie stehen offen zu ihrer außenpolitischen Ignoranz und wollen so Obama schlagen. Die absurde Strategie scheint aufzugehen.

(Whoever wants to lead the US should know something about the rest of the world - or at least act like he does. The Republican candidates for the White House now reject this principle.  They freely admit their foreign policy ignorance and want to use this to beat Obama. This absurd strategy appears to be working.) 

Of course, we saw this trend already in the 2008 election cycle with the popularity of Sarah Palin.  But at least she wasn't at the top of the ticket and foreign policy was one of John McCain's strengths. But now the conservative electorate appears ready to go all the way and reward know-nothingness with millions of votes.  How else to explain the popularity of Herman Cain, who currently leads all the polls?

Ein eindrucksvolles Beispiel lieferte kürzlich einer der Bewerber, Herman Cain, Ex-Pizzaketten-Manager und neuer republikanischer Hoffnungsträger. In einem TV-Interview wurde er gefragt, was er antworten werde, wollte jemand von ihm den Namen des Präsidenten von Usbekistan wissen. Vermutlich wüssten sehr viele Menschen die Antwort nicht auf Anhieb (er heißt Islam Karimow). Doch das Land ist ein enger US-Verbündeter im Kampf in Afghanistan, der mächtigste Mann der Welt sollte mit dem Namen Karimow vertraut sein. Cain allerdings ging in die Offensive: "Ich werde sagen: Ich weiß es nicht. Und: Schafft es auch nur einen Job in Amerika, wenn ich ihn kenne?"

(Herman Cain, the former pizza-chain manager and now the leading Republican candidate provided a good example recently.  In a TV interview he was asked how he would respond if someone wanted to know the name of the president of Uzbekistan. Presumably many would be stumped by this.  But the country is a close US ally in the war in Afghanistan, and the most powerful man in the world should know the name of Karimow. But Cain went on the offensive:"I would say: I don't know.  And: would it create one job in America if I did?")

Cain's ignorance of the world took on absurd proportions in an interview on National Public Television when he warned that China was "developing nuclear capability" - somthing China has had since 1964.  No doubt, this will only increase his popularity with the voters.

Comments

[James]

Yeah, Herman Cain's a dumb-ass. It'll be Romney vs. Perry again.

(And I thought you'd be jumping for joy over Qadhafi's demise. Where's the celebratory post?)

[James]

On second thought, Herman Cain's gaffes aren't hurting him. He has more charisma and humor in his pinky than half the GOP slate and most of the Beltway press corps do in their entire bodies. Cain needs some good advisors, though.