Demonstrating complete ignorance of foreign policy Sept. 8, admitting he hadn’t heard of Aleppo, 64-year-old Libertarian candidate former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson admitted why he really ran for president. Since announcing he’d run as the Libertarian candidate Jan. 6, 2016, Johnson, and his 71-year-old running mate former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, both demonstrated blissful ignorance of U.S. foreign policy. Johnson admitted that he didn’t know Aleppo, Syria’s once busiest commercial center where a decisive battle between Syrian, Russian and Iranian forces and U.S.-Saudi-backed insurgents, threatens a bloodbath of epic proportions. Johnson didn’t know that Aleppo represents the last major battleground for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to final take back his country from a nearly six-year Saudi-U.S. proxy war to topple Damascus Shiite government.
Johnson knows nothing about feverish efforts in the U.N. Security Council to stop Syrian and Russian air-strikes that have leveled much to the city, threatening to displace what’s left of its 250,000 population. Johnson embarrassed himself Sept. 28 when he couldn’t name a single foreign leader, exposing the charade of his run for president. Johnson’s lack of foreign policy savvy disqualifies him from president, other than admitting his obvious purpose of keeping GOP nominee former real estate mogul Donald Trump out of the White House. “I think Mr. Trump’s proposals in the foreign policy area, including nuclear proliferation, tariffs, and free trade, would be so hurtful, domestically and in the world, that he has my full attention,” said Johnson, admitting he ran to help Democrats defeat Trump. Trump’s campaign shows new signs to spiraling downward.
Johnson’s ignorance of foreign policy goes beyond anything excusable, confessing he knows nothing about Syria. When you consider that 80-yer-old Sen. John McCain (R-Az.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called yesterday for President Barack Obama to shoot down Syrian and Russian warplanes, Johnson’s ignorance looks more inexcusable. “I have had in mind all along trying to get the Donald into third place, and with some tugging and hauling, we might get there,” said Johnson, exposing he’s in the race to upend Trump. With new videotape of Trump making crude statements about women with Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush, he’s all but upended his presidential campaign. When Trump faces Democratic nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for the second debate Sunday, Oct. 9, he’s going to find himself back in the hot-seat.
Trump’s performance in the Sept. 26 debate with Hillary left voters thinking that he’s not ready for the Oval Office. While Trump makes a good case to campaign audiences, he can’t collect his thoughts when he’s faced with one-on-one debating. Debating in the GOP primaries with multiple candidates, Trump got away with brief sound-bites, something he can’t do in the face-to-face format. Regardless of how he does next Sunday, his vulgar remarks recorded in 2005 by Access Hollywood all but kills any faint hope Trump had about getting women’s votes. Trump’s got a steep damage control mountain to climb, not so much with his hardcore base but with what’s left of independent voters still sitting on the fence. Whether Johnson admits it or not, Trump would lose the election with or without his presence in the race or that of Peace and Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein.
When you analyze the state of the presidential race, Hillary’s got a wind at her back to pull off what looks like a landslide victory. While both Hillary and Trump are flawed candidates with plenty of baggage, Trump’s recent crude remarks turns off what’s left of the women’s vote. Trump’s dodged many bullets making controversial remarks about many things but the recent videotaped recordings confirms what Megyn Kelly raised in the first GOP debate Aug. 6, 2015 regarding Trump’s degrading statements toward women. Johnson admitted recently that his goal was to work with 2012 GOP nominee former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to rebuild the GOP after Hillary wins the White House. Mitt led the Never Trump movement, ripping Trump for betraying core Republican values, like banning abortion or slashing budgets, adding billions to the national debt.
Polling at about eight percent, Johnson and Weld have taken enough votes from Trump to guarantee a decisive Hillary victory on Nov. 8. With Hillary leading nationally and in key battleground states, she needs only to show up to the remaining two debates and smile to coast to the finish line. Trump’s embarrassing Access Hollywood tape all but kills any chances to persuade enough independent women to vote for the Trump ticket. All the anguish in the GOP over Trump’s candidacy should give the Never Trump holdouts some relief knowing he’ll lose in November. Once inaugurated, Hillary can look forward to more GOP-driven inquires regarding her emails and misconduct at the Clinton Foundation, leading to eventual impeachment. Voters afraid of Trump get what they deserve: Four more years of gridlock. Keeping the status quo comes with unexpected consequences.
