Wednesday, September 28, 2011

american chest-beating is not foreign policy

the headline this morning, "Gov. Christie slams Obama, talks foreign policy during Reagan Library speech" caught my eye. not because i care much that christie slammed obama (that is what i would expect an up-and-coming governor from the opposing party to do), but rather because it mentioned he "talk[ed] foreign policy" and i was curious what christie's views on foreign policy were.

but the article under the headline was completely uninformative. the only mention of foreign policy in the article was a single sentence: "Christie spoke extensively about foreign policy, saying gridlock and inaction in Washington reflect poorly on the country on the international stage." yeah but what were his extensive foreign policy remarks? i googled up the full text of christie's reagan library speech to find out.

now that i've read it, i still have no idea what christie thinks about any foreign policy issue. although he did refer repeatedly to the rest of the world in his speech, his point was that the u.s. needs to get its domestic house in order if we want any credibility internationally. but that assertion isn't foreign policy, it's domestic policy.