Clarence Page: GOP campaign vs. the world

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-perspec-1023-page-20111023,0,954198.column

GOP campaign vs. the world


Clarence Page

October 23, 2011



snip//

Knowledgeable politicians have a choice when it comes to complex issues like foreign relations: They can try to educate the public or they can try to demagogue the issue, milking voters' fears, anger, resentments and suspicions. Guess which side ruled at last week's GOP debate when this question came up: "Why do we continue to send foreign aid to other countries when we need all the help we can get for ourselves?"

Whenever I hear someone ask that question, I ask them how much of the federal budget they think is spent on foreign aid. They almost always guess wrong. I hear estimates as high as 30 or 40 percent or more. In fact, foreign aid amounts to barely more than 1 percent of the budget.

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas said all foreign aid, even to Israel, "should be the easiest thing to cut" because "it's not authorized in the Constitution that we can take money from you and give it to particular countries around the world." To their credit, none of the other candidates on stage agreed with that.

Foreign aid, after all, is more than just charity. It gives us leverage with allies and against enemies in ways that far outweigh the actual dollars we pay.

snip//

A recurring theme of this pre-election year has been the search for "the grown-up in the room." As Moammar Gadhafi's death vindicates President Obama's Libya policy, his persistent critics are looking more like munchkins. I mean no disrespect to munchkins, by the way, wherever they may be on the map.