The Republican Recipe for Success in the Elections
Published in Maariv
(Israel) on 17 November 2011
by Ben Tien (link to original)
(Israel) on 17 November 2011
by Ben Tien (link to original)
Translated from
by Ty Kendall.
Edited by Andrew Schmidt.
The Republicans are expected to ignore foreign affairs, where Obama can boast impressive achievements, and work on domestic issues, especially the economic crisis.
At the beginning of the election year, foreign policy occupied second place compared to domestic affairs. At the top of the agenda was the economy, which will decide the next president of the world’s greatest superpower.
The main reason for this is the relatively high unemployment rate in the U.S. (over 9 percent) and the failure of current President Barack Obama to create new jobs on a significant scale, despite the enormous monetary expenditure of the administration which was meant to serve this purpose.
The Republican Party has additional reasons to concentrate on economic issues, and they will do better for themselves if they have the guile to steer public debate during the presidential campaign as far as possible from foreign policy, because on these matters, they won’t stand a chance against the current president.
A Lack of Understanding of Foreign Affairs
Two major factors will lead the Republicans to adopt this strategy. The first is the prominent Republican candidates’ lack of experience and understanding of anything related to foreign policy, as exemplified by last Saturday’s televised debate for the beginning of primary season, which will occur in another two months.
Governor of Texas Rick Perry suggested completely cancelling any financial support granted by the United States to other countries (within American interests though, of course), including aid to close allies. When asked whether this support should cease even for Israel, Perry answered affirmatively.
Afterward, Perry attempted to backtrack from this strange remark and said that Israel would indeed be granted support. Mitt Romney, the leading candidate, suggested starting a trade war with China unless she “plays by the rules.” Herman Cain mostly tried not to trip on his tongue after he didn’t know a thing about recent events in Libya, as expressed in a most awkward interview he gave before the debate.
In the year 2000, the Republican candidate George W. Bush defeated Al Gore even though he knew next to nothing about foreign policy. He was skillful enough to steer the campaign debates toward Social Security reform, health insurance and tax reduction.
Obama’s Advantage
Secondly, opinion polls published regularly for the elections indicate Obama’s weakness in many areas, but not in foreign affairs.
A survey released this week from the American politics website Politico in cooperation with George Washington University indicated a 56 percent support rating for the president and the way in which he manages American foreign policy.
These impressive percentages are especially significant when compared with the 44 percent expressing satisfaction with his work in general, 35 percent satisfied with his role in the economy and 33 percent with the way he manages the budget.
This makes it difficult for the Republicans to attack the president on foreign affairs after his elimination of Osama bin Laden, his leadership of NATO in a successful operation in Libya which ended the civil war there (for your information, Herman Cain), his withdrawal of American troops from Iraq as promised and doing the same in Afghanistan.
The Race for Jewish Votes Will Reach its Peak
The foreign policy issue which is likely to be mentioned again and again in the course of the campaign is U.S. support of Israel. The Republicans are expected to compete with one another over who is the bigger supporter and how bad Barack Obama is for the Jewish state.
Rick Perry is expected to make grand gestures after his gaffe in the debate on Saturday in order to minimize the damage. It should be remembered that almost 80 percent of American Jews voted for Obama in 2008 and the race for Jewish votes and donations will reach its peak in the coming year.
Meanwhile, the Republicans will continue to focus on the economy which is Obama’s soft underbelly, and they will prefer that the American voters forget about his relative successes abroad.
At the beginning of the election year, foreign policy occupied second place compared to domestic affairs. At the top of the agenda was the economy, which will decide the next president of the world’s greatest superpower.
The main reason for this is the relatively high unemployment rate in the U.S. (over 9 percent) and the failure of current President Barack Obama to create new jobs on a significant scale, despite the enormous monetary expenditure of the administration which was meant to serve this purpose.
The Republican Party has additional reasons to concentrate on economic issues, and they will do better for themselves if they have the guile to steer public debate during the presidential campaign as far as possible from foreign policy, because on these matters, they won’t stand a chance against the current president.
A Lack of Understanding of Foreign Affairs
Two major factors will lead the Republicans to adopt this strategy. The first is the prominent Republican candidates’ lack of experience and understanding of anything related to foreign policy, as exemplified by last Saturday’s televised debate for the beginning of primary season, which will occur in another two months.
Governor of Texas Rick Perry suggested completely cancelling any financial support granted by the United States to other countries (within American interests though, of course), including aid to close allies. When asked whether this support should cease even for Israel, Perry answered affirmatively.
Afterward, Perry attempted to backtrack from this strange remark and said that Israel would indeed be granted support. Mitt Romney, the leading candidate, suggested starting a trade war with China unless she “plays by the rules.” Herman Cain mostly tried not to trip on his tongue after he didn’t know a thing about recent events in Libya, as expressed in a most awkward interview he gave before the debate.
In the year 2000, the Republican candidate George W. Bush defeated Al Gore even though he knew next to nothing about foreign policy. He was skillful enough to steer the campaign debates toward Social Security reform, health insurance and tax reduction.
Obama’s Advantage
Secondly, opinion polls published regularly for the elections indicate Obama’s weakness in many areas, but not in foreign affairs.
A survey released this week from the American politics website Politico in cooperation with George Washington University indicated a 56 percent support rating for the president and the way in which he manages American foreign policy.
These impressive percentages are especially significant when compared with the 44 percent expressing satisfaction with his work in general, 35 percent satisfied with his role in the economy and 33 percent with the way he manages the budget.
This makes it difficult for the Republicans to attack the president on foreign affairs after his elimination of Osama bin Laden, his leadership of NATO in a successful operation in Libya which ended the civil war there (for your information, Herman Cain), his withdrawal of American troops from Iraq as promised and doing the same in Afghanistan.
The Race for Jewish Votes Will Reach its Peak
The foreign policy issue which is likely to be mentioned again and again in the course of the campaign is U.S. support of Israel. The Republicans are expected to compete with one another over who is the bigger supporter and how bad Barack Obama is for the Jewish state.
Rick Perry is expected to make grand gestures after his gaffe in the debate on Saturday in order to minimize the damage. It should be remembered that almost 80 percent of American Jews voted for Obama in 2008 and the race for Jewish votes and donations will reach its peak in the coming year.
Meanwhile, the Republicans will continue to focus on the economy which is Obama’s soft underbelly, and they will prefer that the American voters forget about his relative successes abroad.