Europe Warrants
Just a Single 'Derogatory Reference' in Third U.S. Presidential Debate (Liberation,
France)
"And where
was Europe in all this? Not far from Australia in the competition for the position
of most forgotten continent of the night. It wasn't until almost the last
minute of the debate that Romney would make a very brief derogatory reference, as
is his habit, citing Greece as an example of a country burdened by debt."
The Debates are over: Republican nominee Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama shake hands at the end of the third and final debate, this one on foreign policy. Eighteen foreign countries were mentioned during the clash, and not counting Russia, only one of them was in Europe - Greece.
What was discussed Monday night, in the televised Romney-Obama
debate that was supposed to be devoted to foreign policy? Unemployment, the poor,
teachers and even green technologies. ... Whenever they had the chance, Barack
Obama as well as Mitt Romney returned to their domestic policy obsession. Mitt
Romney even managed to list the five points of his "plan" to
"create 12 million jobs," while the moderator, who played the role of
sleeping dwarf, failed to make any attempt to get him back on track. For the rest
of the time, he [Bob Schieffer] asked questions about
all the usual suspects, which account for the declining influence of American
diplomacy: Syria, Egypt, Libya, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China ...
In the middle of his five-point plan, Mitt Romney also
managed cleverly insert a comment about Latin America, explaining that its
economy is as important as China's (and in particular, reminding people that
Republicans are still fighting for the Latino vote, which is considered crucial
in the upcoming election).
Posted by Worldmeets.US
And where was Europe in all this? Not far from Australia
in the competition for the position of most forgotten continent of the night.
It wasn't until almost the last minute of the debate that Romney would make a
very brief derogatory reference, as is his habit, citing Greece as an example
of a country burdened by debt. "At the end of four years [of President
Obama] ... we are heading toward Greece" asserted the Republican
candidate, repeating one of the current formulations from his campaign.
For many French or European diplomats - all incorrigible
optimists, we should rejoice that Europe has been so absent from America's
radar screen. At least the crisis of the euro is no longer being wielded by
Obama as a major source of U.S. economic turmoil, and Romney has stopped making
"European socialism" his principle campaign scarecrow. In a questionable
conclusion, one leading European diplomat in Washington opined that the less that
is said about us in the United States today, the better.
