A tale of two VFW speeches

Your humble blogger is badly behind on many day-job activities.  As a result, I’m afraid that I can’t comment in detail on Mitt Romney’s foreign policy VFW speech.  There was stuff in there that resonated with me and stuff that had me shaking my head.  My key takeaway, however, is that there was actual stuff ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

Your humble blogger is badly behind on many day-job activities.  As a result, I'm afraid that I can't comment in detail on Mitt Romney's foreign policy VFW speech.  There was stuff in there that resonated with me and stuff that had me shaking my head. 

Your humble blogger is badly behind on many day-job activities.  As a result, I’m afraid that I can’t comment in detail on Mitt Romney’s foreign policy VFW speech.  There was stuff in there that resonated with me and stuff that had me shaking my head. 

My key takeaway, however, is that there was actual stuff in the speech.  The contrast with Rick Perry’s VFW speech is pretty striking.  Looking at the two of them back-to-back, one can see a similar set of applause lines.  The difference is that Romney’s speech contains actual, specitic critiques of Obama’s foreign policies.  These critiques can be debated, but at least there’s content to debate about in this speech. 

In contrast, as previously noted, Perry’s speech lacked anything remotely resembling content

Perry is a late entry to the 2012 nomination, so maybe this is just a case of being new to the campaign trail.  Maybe foreign policy is not a subject that Perry likes to focus on.  I honestly don’t know, and I’ll be looking for more content as the campaign intensifies. 

All I do know is that if the status quo persists for Rick Perry, there’s gonna be a lot of opportunities for new Trumpie and Blitzer nominations. 

Am I missing anything? 

 

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.