koch-cain Cancel The title field is required!

1. Melvin Waldron

   

   43 posts
   
   11/2/2011 10:11 AM

   Sean, with logic like that I guess my vote will go to Cain? Hopefully he learns between now and when he takes office that China already has a Nuclear Weapon.
   
   Who would have thought that among all the candidates President Obama would be the best at national defense and foreign policy? (I wonder if having Secretary Clinton and VP Biden has been a help on those issues?) Of course that's just my opinion, maybe I should say leading candidates, I do think Ambassador Huntsman could go toe to toe with the president.
   
   Mel

   
   Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
   
   
2. Wahlin Scott B

   
   11/2/2011 7:11 PM

   [youtube">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-uckxN7-sY[/youtube">

   
   
   
   
3. Wahlin Scott B

   
   11/4/2011 2:11 PM

   Koch-Cain Anyone?
   
   [youtube">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWxBPaGF9GQ[/youtube">

   
   
   
   
4. McCallum David K

   
   11/7/2011 6:11 AM

   I guess it's politically correct to call this black man a racist's but not the other "ONE".............how convenient for the left. The true definition of a hypocrite is LIBERAL.

   
   
   
   
5. Wahlin Scott B

   
   11/7/2011 7:11 AM

   McCallum said: I guess it's politically correct to call this black man a racist's but not the other "ONE".............how convenient for the left. The true definition of a hypocrite is LIBERAL.

   
   
   It would be fair if it were true.

   
   
   
   
6. Kauffman John M

   
   11/7/2011 9:11 AM

   BallMark said: Sean, with logic like that I guess my vote will go to Cain? Hopefully he learns between now and when he takes office that China already has a Nuclear Weapon.
   
   Who would have thought that among all the candidates President Obama would be the best at national defense and foreign policy? (I wonder if having Secretary Clinton and VP Biden has been a help on those issues?) Of course that's just my opinion, maybe I should say leading candidates, I do think Ambassador Huntsman could go toe to toe with the president.
   
   Mel

   
   
   It seems like everyone's having selective amnesia about presidential candidates and foreign policy. We seem to forget that Obama had 300 advisors on his foreign policy staff as a candidate -- does a candidate really need that much help? He also never made any statement without their approval. But, we never heard fro mthe mainstream media about his inability to decide foreign policy.
   
   We also forget that Obama's main two points in dealing with Iran were 1) to reason with them and 2) entice Ahmadinejad with membership in the WTO. However, as the New York Times pointed out, "Perhaps Mr. Obama is unaware that one of Mr. Ahmadinejad's first acts was to freeze Tehran's efforts for securing WTO membership because he regards the outfit as "a nest of conspiracies by Zionists and Americans." Why didn't anyone talk about this? Isn't it important for a candidate to know what foreign counries have done when formulating his foreign policy?
   
   We also forget that in two interviews in FL (Orlando and Miami) in 2008, Obama said in the first interview that he intended to talk with Chavez and leaders of FRAC (a Colombian terrorist group), then said in the second interview that FARC shoudl be isolated, not negotiated with, and wasn't even connected with Chavez. He said two totally different things in the same day, but the mainstream press didn't say much about it, even with his 300-member foreign policy team.
   
   Maybe more important than knowing if China has nukes (although we're not at war with or in China), is when Obama said that we needed more Arabic-English translators in Afghanistan (a country we were and STILL ARE at war in). He didn't know that they don't speak Arabic in Afghanistan.
   
   So, after all these gaffes and this glaring lack of foreign policy knowledge and experience, why was Obama a better foreign policy candidate than Cain is today?
   
   Maybe I forgot, Obama was declared by the media a foreign policy expert after a campaign trip to France, Germany, and Britain.
   
   If we weren't being hypocritical, it should take little more than a campaign trip to Europe to make Herman Cain fully qualified in the minds of American media and liberals.

   
   
   
   
7. Melvin Waldron

   

   43 posts
   
   11/7/2011 12:11 PM

   JK,
   
   Like I said it was my opinion, at least the president asked for help, Just as Bush did according to Sec. of State Rice in one of her interviews this weekend, when asked about candidate Cain's lack of foreign policy knowledge. Ms. Rice stated that then Gov. Bush was knowledgeable about Central America and Mexico but was not up to speed on the Middle East, so he invited many (I'm sure not 300) knowledgeable policy makers down to Texas to help him study up. (Of course this is my opinion, it sure didn't help him when he decided to invade Iraq, but that is probably another discussion for another day).
   
   Not to pick out every item, but one I will pick on, maybe the president saw the need (or maybe it was even requested of the commanders on the ground? Of course not he gets accused of not listening to them) Arabic translators in Afghanistan, because many of Al-qaeda fighters aren't from Afghanistan, they are from other Arabic countries? Just a thought. As for some of the other items, the Chavez one would bug me, the Iran and WTO comments, could have been part of the negotiation tactics? Or is it something the American people wanted to hear. If the media wasn't commenting on them, then we should let the media know our interests and tell them to cover these stories or we stop watching them, that hurts them in their pocket book. (just my opinion on that as well.)
   
   I do think in my opinion Sec. of State Clinton has been very helpful in foreign policy and so has VP Biden. I thought Bush had some good people such as Sec. of State Powell, and thought Rumsfeld was a good choice, but Rumsfeld didn't really work out like I thought he would have. It is important to surround oneself with the best they can.
   
   Saw Gov. Huntsman on Meet the Press yesterday, not 100% with him on all issues but I thought he was well spoken and knowledgeable. Why won't the republican voters support him?
   
   Mel

   
   Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
   
   
8. McCallum David K

   
   11/7/2011 12:11 PM

   Mel mainly because he has ZERO chance of beating Obama..........that's it in a nutshell.

   
   
   
   
9. Melvin Waldron

   

   43 posts
   
   11/7/2011 12:11 PM

   Dave, who Huntsman? Heck I would think he would have the best chance. Independent voters I would think would pick him and even some democratic voters, I don't see independent voters going for Cain. I don't know if republicans would get out and vote for Romney and maybe Huntsman, but that would be a poor assumption due to how badly they dislike the President and want him not elected.
   
   Mel

   
   Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
   
   
10. Kauffman John M

    
    11/7/2011 1:11 PM

    Mel,
    
    The point of my post (or rant, if you rather) was that the media and the left-wing pundits are hypocritical, saying that one foreign policy gaffe disqualifies Cain from presidency, while they overlooked numerous foreign policy gaffes from Obama. The double standard is blatant.
    
    I'm not sayign that you have to be content with Cain's foreign policy experience, but you certainly can't fault him for it if you endorsed Obama, since Obama had less foreign policy experience when elected than Cain has now -- a year before election.
    
    Maybe that is what bothers me the most -- the media declaring Cain unfit because he screwed up one question, while Obama did worse in 2008 and thye considered him exceptional.
    
    BTW, the CIA made known in 2001 that most al-Quaeda in Afghanistan spoke the local language, which can be any of 12 different languages, none of which are Arabic. Obama also said that we needed to rid Baghdad of the poppy fields involved in the opium trade. Those were in Afghanistan, not Baghdad. Obama's list of foreign policy goofs is too long to list.

    
    
    
    
11. Melvin Waldron

    

    43 posts
    
    11/7/2011 2:11 PM

    JK,
    
    Thanks for the CIA info, I will retract my offer of support on that issue since I clearly didn't know all of the facts. While the list of gaffes are long, I think he has a fair amount of triumphs as well. While the president is certainly not perfect, I would have to disagree on foreign policy over Mr. Cain, President Obama did serve in the senate for two years and would have had been subjected to some foreign policy issues, where as I don't believe Mr. Cain hadn't opened up any Godfather pizza's outside the US, unless you want to include us here in the Ozarks. Maybe Mr. Cain has more knowledge then he has let on, but if he does I would sure appreciate him to take those questions seriously. Just my opinion.
    
    Mel

    
    Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
    
    
12. Kauffman John M

    
    11/7/2011 3:11 PM

    Mel, I'm not saying that Obama hasn't had triumphs or that he hasn't learned a lot while on the job. But, I *AM* saying that his foreign policy experience was less than or equal to Herman Cain's at the same point in his (Obama's) candidacy.
    
    A case-in-point is Obama's previous work experience. Obama had no writings about any foreign subject matter (save for his family's origin from foreign lands) until his presidential campaign began. In 2008, the New York times summarized his experience like this:
    
    "As an adult, Barack Obama focused his efforts in community organizing in Chicago and local and state issues when he became a member of the Illinois State Senate. Since he became a U.S. Senator, his foreign travel has been severely limited and sparse. His supporters tout his role on the Foreign Relations Committee but neglect to note that he has yet to convene a policy-oriented hearing of the Subcommittee on Europe -- which he chairs. Senator Obama seems to have focused on his Presidential campaign rather than on the duties of his office."
    
    The only time Obama met with anyone in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was when he was voted Chair of the Subcommittee on Europe. Other than that non-policy vote, he never met with his subcommittee or anyone else in government about foreign policy!
    
    Maybe you want to contrast that with Herman Cain, who represented American restaurant interests in foreign lands with the National Restaurant Association, his time working with the US Navy, or his time serving on boards of directors for such multinational companies at Nabisco, Whirlpool, and Reader's Digest.
    
    Obama focused on small local issues, while Cain focused on how US companies respond to domestic and foreign issues.
    
    Herman Cain has more foreign policy experience as a candidate than Obama had as a cnadidate. Why is it so hard for the media to give this man a fair shake, or else reveal its bias openly?
    
    Just like knowing that Arabic isn't widely spoken in Afghanistan (especially among the terrorists), the media keeps us in the dark on things that put their candidates in a negative light. I've learned that paying attention to the news gets you only the part of the story the reporter thinks will get you to subscribe to his own world view. Journalism is no longer about reporting -- its about indoctrination.

    
    
    
    
13. Wahlin Scott B

    
    11/7/2011 3:11 PM

    I read a variety of news sources for this reason including FOX. Here are two I like:
    
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/
    
    http://english.aljazeera.net/

    
    
    
    
14. Melvin Waldron

    

    43 posts
    
    11/7/2011 4:11 PM

    JK,
    
    Thanks for the info on Cain, it sounds pretty impressive, I don't know why he isn't telling everyone about his experiences? Maybe Cain needs to fire his campaign staff and hire you? (I'm only saying that because you seem to have better knowledge of his potential then his campaign staff, I'm not trying to be a smarta**)
    
    I want to comment on President Obama's community organizer position because he always was criticized for just having that experience? I do wonder if the years of doing this allowed him to develop his skills at trying to get people working together for a common good, something that might have come in handy when dealing with leaders of nations?
    
    I do wish he would have taken a more active role in the Senate with those duties that you pointed out, why do we just find out about them now? I am surprised that Senator Clinton's campaign failed to use that information against him, I guess it's the way things are today, only using the sound bite of who do you want answering the phone at 3 AM?
    
    It has made me think as we talk about our golf course superintendent careers that as we think about what we do day to day, we have more skills that can translate into different industries and jobs. We should be asking more questions of our political candidates to truly find their skill sets?
    
    Mel

    
    Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
    
    
15. Kauffman John M

    
    11/8/2011 8:11 AM

    Thanks for the response, Mel, but I'll have to pass on running a campaign. I know that the Cain campaign has talked extensively about the things I mentioned (otherwise I wouldn't have known them), but the mainstream media tends to put these things aside because it doesn't fit their narrative. They know that if they don't talk about it, most people don't know it exists.
    
    A great case-in-point is Obama's lack of senate subcommittee activity. The Clinton campaign tried over and over to make this an issue -- Hillary said it herself on Meet the Press and Face the Nation, but the mainstream media paid little attention to it. In fact, that's what the 3 AM-phone call ad was about -- Obama wasn't willing to meet with his subcommittee in the senate, so would he be willing to answer the 3 am call? The Clinton campaign used this heavily, but the media didn't talk about it -- they said that foreign policy could be learned and wasn't important for a candidate. But, they're not saying that now.
    
    So, my beef with this whole Herman Cain foreign policy thing is that we need to find the real data and make the decision for ourselves. We tell turf students that they can't buy everything that every turf salesman tries to sell them -- they should use their agronomic knowledge to see if the product passes the 'sanity check,' then ask to see university data about the product's claims. But, you never take a cool looking graph and a salesman's word as being the sole authority.
    
    In the Cain case, the media is the salesman, trying to get us to buy their narrative. They know that a lot of people are just going to take their word as truth, without finding out the rest of the story. I advocate knowing the story, even if the media doesn't want to tell it.
    
    BTW, I'm not slamming salesmen -- just like superintendents, there are ones who serve their customers well and ones who don't do very well. The guys who don't do a very good job gave a bad name to the guys who do a great job.