Breaking: The GOP’s National Security Debate Sucked
Breaking: The GOP’s National Security Debate Sucked
By Spencer Ackerman Email AuthorNovember 22, 2011 |
Judging from Tuesday night’s Republican debate on national security, the 2012 presidential candidates don’t really think defense is a big issue in the upcoming election. The major candidates don’t like President Obama; they like the military; and they’re wary about withdrawing from Afghanistan. Not a lot of surprises there. In fact, the debate occasionally sidetracked into pledges to cut entitlement programs and reform immigration — subjects that got several of the candidates to exhibit more passion.
Still, even a lame presidential debate can be revealing. Here were three moments:
1. Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich pretty much agree with Obama on Afghanistan and Pakistan. It turns out that the parameters of the debate on the Afghanistan war are pretty narrow. Ex-Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, saying that he backed the “commanders on the ground,” endorsed Obama’s current approach: ending the Afghanistan troop surge in 2012 and withdrawing most troops by the end of 2014.