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The economy occupies most of our national vision and it’s leaving important considerations of presidential qualifications out of the picture for the moment.

Joe Biden does know a few things about Geopolitics and the realities of the international stage. None of the Republican also rans contesting with Romney for the nomination could stand up on that stage; they don’t meet the minimum threshold to pass the gate and it’s not a time for on the job training. While we are winding down two wars and watching the outcome of Arab Spring, food and economic insecurity are heating things up in several regions.

If your vote is influenced by how you think candidates will do in the face of international threats and geopolitical crisis, you can’t seriously entertain Cain, Perry, Bachmann, or any of the other Ron Paulian paleo isolationists. Huntsman and Gingrich can get close to the threshold but they haven’t got a serious chance of gaining the nomination.

We’ve already seen that these candidates come from an extreme conservative world view where it’s ok to hold the US economy hostage out of spite, where’s it’s ok to lace every bill with Luddite social and religious riders, and where everything and everyone non christian and non white is hated and feared.

When someone’s chief foreign policy statement consists of building a new Century Berlin wall equivalent on our Southern border, you just can’t trust them at international geopolitics. When someone thinks a valid approach to the drug war is to invade Mexico, you can’t trust them. When someone think’s it’s somehow a failure to get all our troops out after winning a war, you can’t trust them.

Vice President Joe Biden fired up Florida Democrats Friday night, decrying Republicans obstructing the president’s economic agenda and ridiculing their foreign policy agenda.

“Name me one major initiative on taxes, on jobs, on Wall Street, on foreclosures, on promoting innovation, on infrastructure that is ay different than in the eight years that they controlled the presidency. I cannot find one,’’ Biden told more than 1,000 party activists gathered at Disney World for the state party’s 2011 convention.

Drawing a rousing reception, Biden scoffed at Republican presidential candidates suggesting American troops for remain longer in Iraq and noted that Texas Gov. Rick Perry once suggested he’d consider troops into Mexico to deal with the drug war.

“Folks, I know this election is not going to be about foreign policy,’’ said Biden. “But let me remind you, there’s a minimum threshold any man or woman has to cross on national security and foreign policy for the American people to think you’re remotely eligible to be president. And these guys have a long way to go.”