No Discussion of Europe at GOP Debate
CBS made some questionable broadcasting decisions with this debate. They decided that the last half hour of the debate will only be broadcasted in some television markeys. Most networks reverted to NCIS so many viewers had to get the rest of their debate fix from the unreliable online feeds.
The overwhelming majority of the discussion was about Pakistan and Iran, with Ron Paul staking out the most extreme and isolationist position in all his answers. Paul would typically call for complete disengagement with Pakistan, and it would be left to Santorum and Bachmann to explain why it was important to work with Pakistan to make sure that Pakistan's nuclear weapons did not end up destabilizing the region.
There was shockingly little time given to a discussing the European debt crisis, with only Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry being asked questions about it. Huntsman evaded on the issue and Perry was not given enough time to give a full answer. There was also no discussion of the delay of the Keystone XL pipeline, or the situation on the border with Mexico.
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Tonight's GOP debate is hosted by CBS and National Journal. It will start at 8pm ET and will be the first debate with an explicit focus on foreign policy and national security.
Foreign policy issues have come up in previous debates, but they have not dominated this cycle to the same extent that the economy has. Some candidates have already made controversial statements that they may need to explain tonight. For example, Ron Paul has said that the solution to the European debt crisis is for all debts to be liquidated and Herman Cain might be unaware about China's nuclear capabilities.
In advance of tonights debate, CBS and National Journal asked FrumForum Editor David Frum to suggest some potential questions. Here is what was proposed:
1. Mexico is being torn apart by a civil war to control the drug routes to the United States. Many Mexican leaders urge drug legalization in the US in order to move the drug trade away from violent criminals to legitimate business. If a Mexican president asked you to consider such a step, what would you answer and why?
2. Canada is our largest trading partner and most important energy supplier. What do you see as the major issues between the US and Canada and what would you do to strengthen this supremely important relationship?
3. If asked, would you support a US contribution to the fund to stabilize the Euro currency? Why or why not?
4. Taiwan is China’s largest foreign investor. Taiwan and China have an intensifying economic relationship. Taiwan has refused to make the military investments that our military considers necessary to Taiwan’s security. Is the US security guarantee to Taiwan obsolete?
5. If you had been president in 2010, would Hosni Mubarak still be in power today?
6. Do you believe there is a peaceful way to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons?
7. It’s often said that our present energy policy leaves us dependent on oil suppliers who do not like us. Our top 10 suppliers are:
Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Venezuela, Russia, Algeria, Iraq, Angola and Colombia. The anti-US feeling of the Chavez regime is notorious. Which of the other 9 would you describe as a supplier who “does not like us”?
8. Afghanistan: At the end of your first term do you think we’ll have more or less than 20,000 troops in that country?
9. Iraq: Knowing everything you know now, if you had been in Congress in 2002, would you have voted to authorize force against Saddam Hussein, yes or no?