Palin vs. Biden – Foreign Policy Experience

by

Jim Hagedorn 

(October 2, 2008)

Governor Sarah Palin must not attempt to defend her foreign policy credentials during tonight’s debate, based upon Washington/Congressional experience.  Such a test she cannot pass.  The “I lived near Russia and we had to deal with the Air National Guard situations” type of answer will simply not fly.

Instead, Governor Palin must directly compare herself to Senator Biden, using former President Ronald Reagan as an example of how D.C. outsiders often understand world affairs as well or better than “Inside the Beltway” professionals.  She must recount how Ronald Reagan’s career demonstrates that a governor with limited foreign policy experience can successfully apply commonsense, strong convictions and exceptional leadership skills to keep our country safe and strong and achieve great things for the American people and all of humanity.

Governor Palin must remind the voters that President Reagan’s victory over the Soviet Union and his restoration of our military and leadership position in the World – policies opposed at every turn by Senator Joe Biden and his Democrat colleagues – are examples of why Washington experience does not always guarantee sound judgement.

Governor Palin should pointedly state that if Senator Biden had had his way Ronald Reagan would not have defeated Soviet-styled communism, hundreds of millions of people would remain slaves of totalitarian governments, and the Cold War would be waged to this day.  The fact is that Senator Biden opposed every aspect of President Reagan’s plan to rebuild the U.S. military and stand firm against marxist-leninist expansion, policies that pressured the Soviet dictatorship into submission.

Note:  Senator Biden opposed Reagan’s historic military build up; he vehemently objected to the development of an anti-ballistic missile defense system (Strategic Defense Initiative); the Senator voted against funding for Reagan’s Doctrine to arm the anti-communist freedom fighters who liberated Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mozambique, Angola and other nations, and the supposedly informed Senator also opposed Reagan’s “provocative” introduction of intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Great Britain and Germany.  Senator Biden even advocated adoption of the nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the nuclear freeze – discredited leftist passions that would have locked-in Soviet superiority.

Governor Palin should openly admit that she is deficient in Washington-style foreign policy experience, especially as compared with Senator Biden who has served in the Senate since 1972 and has had 50 staff members at his beck-n-call for 36 years to provide talking points and keep him abreast of global developments.  Then Palin must firmly assert that Senator Biden’s Senate marathon proves that Congressional experience is no guarantor of sound judgement, as Biden was tragically naive about how to end the Vietnam War, completely upside-down concerning Ronald Reagan’s plan and vision to defeat the Soviets, wrong to oppose the first Gulf War and silly to oppose Senator McCain’s surge strategy to turn around the Iraq War.  For all his great Senatorial experience Biden has committed monumental foreign policy blunders in each of the past four decades.

During tonight’s debate, Governor Palin should remind us that Ronald Reagan proved that a charismatic leader with commonsense and principled convictions can be up to the foreign policy part of the presidency.

###  USA  ###

Posted on October 1st, 2008 by Mr. Conservative
Filed under: The Masterpiece Analysis Collection