Here’s a surprise. People in other countries hate Mitt Romney and will think less favorably towards America if we elect him president. Who could have guessed it? Over in Britain, they are particularly disdainful of the Mittster (only 3% want to see him elected). And they only perceive three areas where he has articulated a foreign policy. They are real crowd-pleasers:
…the findings play into a larger question over Romney’s foreign policy credentials. Little is known about his position on these issues, mainly because he has had little to say, espousing only three positions: support for Israel in the event of it bombing Iran; a threat to launch a trade war against China over alleged currency manipulation; and identifying Russia as America’s main threat.
I believe that is three strikes and you’re out.
Apparently, the Romney campaign believes that no one cares about foreign policy and the election will be decided solely on the condition of the economy (which is not that bad, by the way). But Team Romney should consider a simple fact. One of the three presidential debates will be devoted exclusively to foreign policy, as will half of the vice-presidential debate. That’s 37.5% of the total debate time. Do they think they can concede almost 40% of the debates and still come out on top?
The presidential foreign policy debate is the last debate, scheduled for October 22nd. It’s probably not as important as the first debate, since first impressions are very important, but it will be the send-off note for the electorate. It will provide the taste in everyone’s mouth when they cast their ballots. Telling people that you want to start another war in the Middle East, revive the Cold War, and start a trade war with China is not going to sit well with people who can still remember unpleasantries in all three areas.
You want to know how unpopular Mitt Romney is abroad. About the only place where people would be modestly happier if he won is Pakistan, and Obama has been bombing their country for four years. The numbers?
…the prospect of [Romney] winning the White House was greeted with less dismay in Pakistan, where about 13% of respondents said it would make them more favourable to the US, compared to just 9% who said it would make them less favorable.
I don’t think Americans suffer from total amnesia. They may be taking Obama’s saner foreign policy a bit for granted, but they don’t want to see the neo-conservatives back in charge of our foreign policy. A brief look at today’s New York Times tells us why.
Meanwhile, the Egyptians are mad at us, but no one seems to really understand what set them off.
