Just think about this report in an AP column by Jill Colvin in The Huffington Post:
"It's after 9 p.m. on a Sunday night in late November and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is deep into a conference call, talking about nuclear weapons and Iran. One voice is advocating a hard line, arguing against allowing Iran any capability to enrich uranium. Another summarizes the status of current negotiations and argues that forcing Iran to give up enrichment entirely isn't realistic."
"Late at night, away from the spotlight of the midterm elections and 2016 speculation, he's been on the phone with some of the brightest foreign policy minds in the Republican Party, getting ready to run for president."
So Christie, who knows nothing about the world situation, is now preparing as he would for a college debate or a final exam. Definitely not a report to inspire confidence in the electorate he could lead the only superpower left in the world.
But none of the other potential Republican choices would make anyone feel safer with their finger on the nuclear button. There is former Texas Governor Rick Perry, the candidate for those who thought George W. Bush was too cerebral; Jeb Bush -- yes, he could call his brother George for advice but remember where that go us; Rick Santorum, enough said; Marco Rubio who believes the last 50 years of sanctions against Cuba accomplished something and should be continued; Rand Paul, who would call his father for advice and just turn away from the rest of the world; or Carly Fiorina making her own noise about running. This being the same Fiorina who got dumped by Hewett-Packard (HP) because she couldn't get along with her board after firing 18,000 employees. Her claim to fame was walking away with a golden parachute worth $21 million (a company saves a lot when you fire 18,000 people). She ran and lost a California Senate race to Barbara Boxer which came as no surprise since voters are pretty smart and she ran on her expert business acumen and how she could create jobs.
We live in a world in which a new crisis arises every day and our president is required to respond. We are bringing to a close America's longest war but will still have 13,000 American troops in Afghanistan; ISIS is threatening to overrun Iraq and pull us back to fight there; and Putin is still flexing his muscles even though they are weaker since the price of oil plummeted to $50 a gallon. The Israeli/Palestinian situation is always on the verge of erupting into war and North Korea continues to threaten havoc. There are hotspots around the globe ready to explode at any time.
Americans must ask themselves are we going to elect a president with no real foreign affairs knowledge, or experience or are we going to elect the most qualified person ever to run for the office? Are we going to elect someone who is studying up for a debate or will we elect Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has the world's leaders on speed-dial because she has traveled the world as Secretary of State negotiating with them and earning their respect?
They know and we know what she stands for. We can be confident that as president she understands and won't back away from the challenges the United States faces. Hillary understands as the only remaining superpower we can't allow the new isolationists in our country to keep the United States from acting to protect our homeland and make this a safer world. She has defined what she means by acting when she describes her view of "Smart Power." She makes clear it is not always rushing in with troops rather using all the levers a president has at her disposal with military action being the last resort. Americans will always sleep better knowing we have a president with an in-depth understanding of the world situation and the players in it.
Barack Obama brought the country out of the worst recession we have seen since the Great Depression. His administration has overseen the creation of more net jobs than the administrations of both Bushes together and seen the unemployment rate go down from over ten percent to less than six percent. He saved the automotive industry and for the first time in decades we are seeing a rise in manufacturing jobs.
But the work of rebuilding our economy is far from over and it won't be accomplished until people once again have the chance to enter the middle class and see a better future for their families and their children's children. While we are moving in that direction Hillary Rodham Clinton has a record that shows she understands what still has to be done. She will lead a government working to ensure equality for all and providing every person with the tools they need to succeed.
Americans and peace-loving people across the globe will all sleep better if Hillary Rodham Clinton takes the oath of office on January 20, 2017.