Romney Shows Himself Unfit to Lead

“Hmmmmm…now folksies, if the right thumb comes up today I lead Neocon -style and we start a war in the Persian Gulf. But if the left thumb comes up then I do just what Obama’s been doin’!”

Well, it's come down to this: the final debate last night on foreign policy issues as the nation waited with bated breath to see if Mitt Romney could present himself as an alternative leader of this nation for the next four years. The verdict - from at least the sane people who watched- Romney failed the test miserably! As one commentator so aptly put it: "Just because you sit next to the Commander--in -Chief doesn't mean you pass the Commander-in-Chief test."

Indeed, but the issues are even more fundamental than that as Beau Biden pointed out this a.m. on 'Morning Joe'. They entail a man's character and adherence to principles and vision, which Romney showed last night that he lacked.

On every issue, from Libya, to Syria, to use of drones, to leaving Afghanistan, to Iraq, to Egypt and deposing Mubarak, Romney sided with Obama. It was more like being in an 'echo chamber' than watching a debate! We had to wonder, my guests and I last night, which Mitt Pod person (recall 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers')  had suddenly managed to take over the old Mitt. You know, the one at the Repuke convention and on the campaign trail. The one who vowed to an APAC confab that oh yes, he'd send battle ships into the Persian Gulf and fire missiles on Tehran if need be. And no, you can't just leave Afghanistan so, there has to be a slower pullout. And by the way, as for Syria, prompted by his Neocon policy makers (like Condi Rice and John Bolton) we have to leave open the possibility of ground troops.

Then the biggest howler of the night: When this guy, who fancies himself a future president (and even said more than once 'When I am President') actually declared that Syria is "Iran's path to the sea". HUH??!! And WTF!?

If Romney had even checked a World Atlas prior to his appearance, he'd have seen that Iran doesn't need Syria to gain access to any sea. Nope. The Persian Gulf stretches across its southern border and opens into the Arabian Sea.

My point? If this pretender doesn't even know the geographical layout of one of the most critical regions, how can he plan any credible geopolitical strategy?  He can't! To me, he failed the most basic test you can give a would-be candidate in not knowing the basic geography of the nations he will seek to force his form of "peace" on - obviously by Pax Americana. ("Pax Americana" was described by JFK in a June 4, 1963 speech at American University in Washington, D.C., as a peace "enforced by American weapons of war". We also note Mitt used the word 'peace' no fewer than 39 times last night, and I believe he means Pax Americana!)

Now, two groups of viewers can come away from last night with two distinct perceptions and I will deal with each briefly. There are those like me who often heard Romney's bellicose bombast both at the Repub convention and on the campaign trail the past 14 months, and know the Romney that showed up at the debate is not the Romney that forcefully articulated a decided militarist-interventionist slant earlier. In other words, he's a fake, an empty suit. What the Chinese and Zen students refer to as "a hollow man". Some,  like our guest last night,  put it even more bluntly: "He's a FRAUD!"

We also are quite aware that Romney's actual advisors - including John Bolton, Condi Rice, are former Bushie Neocons who got us into the budget busting Iraq war. So when viewing last night, we pay no attention to this salesman trying to pass himself off as another JFK, NO - we look at what he declared previously and also those he hired into his advisor ranks - including Gen. Tommy Franks - the bombastic warmonger who vowed once to reduce Iraq to burnt out cinders if need be even as as he warned Muslims "My GOD can BEAT your GOD!".  THESE are the people Mitt has actually put on his payroll, so WHO you gonna believe? Mitt or your lyin' eyes? Come now! The new Mitt, who sounds more like JFK in his June, 1963 Pax Americana speech, or the Mitt who hired actual Neocons to guide his foreign policy?

The stupid people or maybe ignorant if we wish to be generous - though with all the sources available this is hard to accept - will think Romney presented himself as a legitimate and credible alternative to Barack Obama. These people are dreaming, and I only hope to god that if they bring that supreme dumbness into the voting booths that their votes are cancelled out by a surfeit of smarter voters. Otherwise, friends, we are in what the Bajans call "duck's guts".

At issue then is character. A man who flees from his own sternly taken previous positions regarding war and peace, is a man that can't be trusted. A man who has hired warmongers for his future cabinet then casually rejects them in a debate to 'sway' voters, is a chameleon-  not a worthy candidate and certainly not a leader who can be trusted to implement foreign policy. .He lacks convictions, character and abiding principles. We absolutely cannot have such a man sitting in the White House within arm's reach of the nuclear 'football' with its nuclear attack codes.

People now have to make their minds up on which person they want running the country for the next 4 years: A proven Commander-in -Chief who has re-established respect for the U.S. in the world (never mind the other Romney bollocks about Obama's 'Apology tour' - a bastard meme dreamed up in the psycho ward blogs of Rightists) and has taken out dozens of al-Qaeda enemies - including Osama bin Laden - while guiding U.S. interests in a democracy movement across the Middle East.

Or, a hack, glorified  used car salesman, lacking character, principles, conviction and vision who will say anything to try to get in proximity to the Oval Office where he can wreak havoc on us all - whether via starting two new wars (using the $2 trillion he wants to award the Pentagon) or driving the deficit up another $7 trillion - then blaming it on Obama and the Dems.

The choice is now before us. We've seen both men in three key confrontations.

The decision is clear as day for me, and I hope most other people in this country. Of course, here in Colo. as in many other states, most of us have already voted early - as wifey and I did last week! You can guess our votes if you wish!