by Smitty
I’ve enjoyed banter with His Dougness for years. He’s certainly a prolific blogger, makes a lot of good points, and has the annoying tendency to gauge the realpolitik of a situation with a cynically accurate eye. That is, I don’t agree with him much, but credit where due: he’s got a professional’s eye for the cesspool that is our government.
So, going after John Bolton is just how Doug rolls:
Props to Dennis McIver down the thread for sending me off to find this gem from this February:
If you’re a ‘Stache fan, like I am, it’s a great listen.
Anyone thinking Huntsman has any foreign policy credibility is an idiot and lunatic. Mataconis IS an idiot and a lunatic.
I mean, he DID serve as Ambassador to China, and that level of foreign policy resume fodder is scarce in ANY party.
Being accidentally funny is his superpower.
True, but the last former Ambassador to China to become president went on to lose to Bill Clinton.
Yes, but who served as ambassador to Vanuatu?
THAT’S who I want as the next president of these here United States!
Being selected for the post of ambassador, no matter how important the station, under this regime is mostly a financial transaction. This increases the confusion between exotic vacation and serving one’s country.
No matter the party, Ambassadors are pretty much useless no bodies, unless they gave a lot to someone’s campaign. Kissinger found he had to bypass our Ambassadors most of the time. One doesn’t have to like Kissinger to realize why he had to do that.
Huntsman also speaks fluent Mandarin, and served as Governor of Utah. The “unqualified” argument just doesn’t stick on him, for all my defense is not to be construed as an endorsement.
I perceive him as a Sinophile. Sino skepticism would be a much better qualification in my opinion.
Being an ambassador is not even in the same league as being a foreign policy expert. Ambassadors rarely know anything at all about how to handle foreign policy. They are just messengers who receive training from the diplomatic corps on how to deliver the message without accidentally starting a war.
It’s a plum assignment to big political donors, mostly. Also, as many foreign folks will tell you, US Embassies are full of corruption. You have some lightweight like Huntsman managing the ambassadorial staff, who are all gilded paper pushers, and then you have a few locals who work there, who make a huge market in graft. Many times obtaining a visa to the US involves paying the door wardens hefty bribes.
Since the US media completely ignores the situation, nothing will ever be done about it.
Well, how hard is it to be governor of Utah, anyway? Most of the land there is either under direct federal control or control of tribes.
Then you have all those Mormons not drinkin’ and fornicatin’ like normal people.
It’s gotta be like being Mayor McCheese.
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