In the midst of all the tumult and drama surrounding the Debt Ceiling Crisis, the lowering of the US credit rating by Standard and Poor’s, and the Stock Market gyrations this past week, it would seem as if only the economy matters to most Americans, an understandable viewpoint, but a dangerous one!
We must remember that the President of the United States is not just the leader of this country, but the number one world leader, and therefore, his or her credibility on an international scale really is significant and crucial!
So when one looks at the four finalists in the Republican Presidential contest, as the author earlier today assessed it, one must see the dramatic differences between the so called Establishment Republican Mormon candidates (Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman), and the Tea Party Republican evangelical Christian candidates (Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann).
Romney has the record of having operated the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, requiring diplomatic skills to make it the success it was.
Even more so, Huntsman has been the Ambassador to Singapore in the time of President George H. W. Bush, Deputy US Trade Representative under George W. Bush, and Ambassador to China under Barack Obama, therefore having tremendous foreign policy training and experience.
Rick Perry has NO foreign policy experience, and comes across as a bully type who would throw his weight around in foreign affairs with his swagger and arrogant manner, in a way that would make George W. Bush, often called a “cowboy” in foreign affairs, look civil and diplomatic by comparison!
And Michele Bachmann also has ZERO foreign policy experience, and a loose, no holds barred way of speaking, that would totally antagonize the outside world!
Both Perry and Bachmann would be a danger in world affairs through their lack of experience and judgment, and with their Christian evangelical roots, would promote a war on Islam, that would make the nightmare of Iraq and Afghanistan in the past ten years look like a minor blip in international affairs! They would conduct themselves as Christian crusaders, something we do NOT need if there is to be peace and diplomacy with an outside world which Is not going to accept American imperialism and dominance!
So the foreign policy issue may seem minor now, but in a campaign of Barack Obama against either Perry or Bachmann, it would be a tremendously important issue, and a blessing to Obama!
With Huntsman in particular, and Romney lesser so, Obama would have more difficulty on this issue, as well as generally all matters, including the economic difficulties we now face.
So for Barack Obama, a dream fulfilled would be Perry or Bachmann as his opponent, while Huntsman or Romney could be his greatest nightmare!