The Republicans are losing their historic advantage on foreign policy, Columbia University professor Dorian Warren said on Sunday’s Melissa Harris-Perry.
Warren, who teaches political science and public affairs, said Sunday that the roles of the two parties have essentially reversed over the last few years. “The Democratic Party, and President Obama, is now seen as stronger on foreign affairs than the Republican Party,” he said.
Warren’s remarks come after President Obama tweaked his Republican opponents Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan as “new to foreign policy” at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, adding the duo wants to take the U.S. back “to an era of blustering and blundering that cost America so dearly.”
Obama also also heavily criticized Romney for not mentioning Afghanistan in his GOP convention speech. Romney later defended himself saying by a speech isn’t a “laundry list.”
“You talk about the things you think are important, and I described in my speech my commitment to a strong military, unlike the president’s decision to cut our military. I didn’t use the word ‘troops,’ I used the word ‘military.’ I think they refer to the same thing,” he told Fox News.
msnbc’s Melissa Harris-Perry noted Obama also left several major foreign policy issues out in his speech, including America’s rocky relationship with Pakistan, Syria’s bloody civil war, the collapse of the potential Euro, and the emergence of Africa as a possible trading partner.
“The conventional wisdom is most Americans are concerned about the economy, so that’s all we’re going to hear,” said Warren. Author and former Republican congressman Mickey Edward said both candidates needed to do a better job of addressing foreign affairs. “Killing Osama bin Laden is not a foreign policy,” he said. “Okay you got that done. Now what?” Valarie Kaur, a Sikh American filmmaker, said Romney’s reluctance to mention Afghanistan during his speech was a big mistake. “Afghanistan is not something to be considered on a laundry list,” she said, noting the hundreds of Americans being brought back in coffins. “It shows how out of touch Mitt Romney is with the American people.”
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