Arlene Kushner: Thoughts And Articles About Election Day

From Arlene Kushner:
November 4, 2012

Election Day

Sharing some significant articles today -- relevant for this day and thereafter...

"I Didn't Leave the Democrats, They Left Me," writes Sheldon Adelson (with my emphasis added).

"When members of the Democratic Party booed the inclusion of God and Jerusalem in their party platform this year, I thought of my parents.

"They would have been astounded.

With 14 Days Till Election, Obama "Unveils" His Agenda If Re-elected

If you have been wondering just what it is that Obama plans to do differently for the next 4 years that he did not do during the last 4 years -- you wait is over, because Two weeks from the election, Obama unveils 20-page agenda for his second term

Team Obama has announced that they will unveil a physical 20-page “Blueprint for America’s Future” today, answering accusations from the Romney campaign that they Obama doesn’t have a second term agenda.

Of course, one might find it strange that Obama waited till 14 days before the election before finally revealing what he is going to do.

With so little time, cartoonist A. F. Branco knew what you were thinking:

Obama's Biggest Middle East Policy Failure -- And Can Romney Do Better?

According to Jackson Diehl, the prime example of Obama's failed Middle East policy is not the disaster in Libya, but rather How Obama bungled the Syrian revolution:

The president’s handling of Syria, on the other hand, exemplifies every weakness in his foreign policy — from his excessive faith in “engaging” troublesome foreign leaders to his insistence on multilateralism as an end in itself to his self-defeating caution in asserting American power.

As a result of Obama's failed policy in Syria:

The Middle East Media Sampler 10/11/2012: More On Romney's Speech

From DG:

1) More on Romney's speech

A New York Times editorial, In search of answers from Mr. Romney starts with:

Mitt Romney mounted a big foreign policy display on a flag-draped stage at the Virginia Military Institute on Monday, serving up a lot of tough-sounding sound bites and hawkish bumper stickers, some of them even bumping up somewhere close to the truth, to give the appearance that he would be stronger and more forceful on international affairs than President Obama.

It isn't a serious look at Romney's speech, Here's part of the rest of the editorial:

Daniel Pipes: Romney Channels George W. Bush's Middle East Policy

The following from Daniel Pipes is reposted here with permission:

Romney Channels George W. Bush's Middle East Policy

by Daniel Pipes
October 8, 2012
Cross-posted from National Review Online, The Corner

http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2012/10/romney-channels-george-w-bush-middle-east-policy

Mitt Romney gave a generally fine speech today on the Middle East. Sensibly, he criticized the Obama administration for its Benghazi shenanigans, for the "daylight" with Israel, fecklessness vis-à-vis Tehran, and the cuts in military spending. Very justifiably, he called it "time to change course in the Middle East."

But I worry about three specifics.

The Middle East Media Sampler 10/10/2012: Romney's Foreign Policy Speech

From DG:

Romney's speech

Romney gave a speech the other day on foreign policy at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). This is perhaps the central theme of the speech:

America can take pride in the blows that our military and intelligence professionals have inflicted on Al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, including the killing of Osama bin Laden. These are real achievements won at a high cost. But Al-Qaeda remains a strong force in Yemen and Somalia, in Libya and other parts of North Africa, in Iraq, and now in Syria. And other extremists have gained ground across the region. Drones and the modern instruments of war are important tools in our fight, but they are no substitute for a national security strategy for the Middle East. 

The President is fond of saying that “The tide of war is receding.” And I want to believe him as much as anyone.

Has Romney Figured Out A Foreign Policy Yet?

Mitt Romney

If he has, Romney has yet told us what his foreign policy would be.

Barry Rubin writes that On International Affairs Romney Has Not Yet Even Begun to Fight -- and that is despite the fact that Romney has written an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal about A New Course for the Middle East.

The Middle East Media Sampler 9/6/2012: What Would Romney Do In Middle East?

From DG:

1) On foreign policy WWRD (What would Romney do?)

In a nutshell Barry Rubin proposes a Middle East for President Romney:

The basic grand strategy for the Middle East should be to form and lead a very broad and very loose — not institutionalized — alignment of forces opposing Islamism. This means showing real leadership to the Europeans; in fact, many European countries are better on this issue than Obama. It also means supporting Israel, of course, but there is a long list of others: 

Barry Rubin Offers A Middle East Policy for President Romney

“We don’t want an American president who acts like an Arab. We want an American president who acts like an American.”
Private Arab citizen in a private conversation

Mitt Romney
What would his Middle East
Policy Be?
Credit: Wiki Commons

In suggesting A Middle East Policy for President Romney, Barry Rubin notes that during the Republican National Convention there was naturally an emphasis on the economy and domestic issues. As a result, there was practically no discussion during the convention of foreign policy.

But more than that, there haven't been many articles in general discussing Romney's approach to foreign policy -- and that is an issue that even if not primary, is still important.

Rubin notes that the key is that for the Republican Party as a whole, there are a variety of choices and because of the complexity of the issues that the US will be facing, the approach taken might not need to be -- and perhaps should not be -- consistent.

Romney's VP Running Mate Paul Ryan And The Jewish Vote

Obama's negative campaign will go into overdrive, now that Romney has announced that his running mate will be Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan. Democrat's scare tactics have already begun.

A side question is how Romney's choice will affect the Jewish vote, which has not been as strongly pro-Obama as in the 2008 election. While there's no reason to see Ryan as an actual draw for Jewish votes, there is the question--as Jonathan Tobin writes: Will Ryan Help Obama Win Jewish Votes?:

For Romney, Not Being Obama Not Enough--The Importance Of Wisconsin

The Meaning of the Wisconsin Recall Election

by Jonathan Rosenblum
Yated Ne'eman
June 13, 2012

The most surprising aspect of the current presidential race – to me at least -- is not that Mitt Romney appears to be clawing his way into contention, after an extremely divisive Republican season, but rather that he is not yet far ahead.