Relevancy of Foreign Policy Debate Questioned
U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney are pictured during the second U.S. presidential campaign debate in Hempstead, New York, October 16, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES – Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS USA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION)
The foreign policy issues that come up in presidential debates are not necessarily the ones that will be most relevant for the candidate who wins the election. That’s according to Boston Globe foreign affairs columnist Juliette Kayyem.
Kayyem’s column for the Boston Globe Monday is titled: “Is the foreign policy debate irrelevant?”
Kayyem tells anchor Marco Werman what we will hear from the candidates this evening will be interesting and illuminating but are rarely the issues that will test a presidency.
She says there will be new challenges that the president would never have anticipated. The best example given was during President George Bush’s watch in 2001.
Kayyem says Bush was focusing on Mexican-US relations when he first started, but quickly changed once the September 11th attacks occurred.
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