Category Archives: American Foreign Policy & Politics

The TV Ad Presidential Candidate

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1984 Presidential Campaign Commercials

In 1984, Republican incumbent Ronald Reagan was being challenged by Democrat Walter Mondale.  That year the Reagan campaign ran a puzzling Bear commercial that referenced the Soviet threat, though some viewers thought it was about gun control or the environment.  “Some say the bear is tame, others say it’s vicious and dangerous.”

The website, Living Room Candidate, archives famous political campaign commercials over the past 60 years of the TV era.  Explore how political campaign ads have changed over the decades.

Romney: American Exceptionalist

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Governor Romney believes in American exceptionalism, that we are great not just because of our military and economic power but also because of our values. The current president does not. … He believes in engagement – which has often not worked – while the governor believes we should say what we believe and work from a position of strength.

Richard Williamson, a leading Republican foreign policy specialist and adviser to the Romney campaign

Have dinner with Barack!

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Dinner with Barack

Is this sweepstakes contest of the American presidency an example of our commercialization of just about everything?  Can you imagine your own political candidates doing such a thing?  Or is this just being honest that the highest office in the land is really for sale?

You might say, well there’s no purchase required to enter the sweepstakes.  Look closer.  You have to give your email address and zip code.  That’s all the reelection committee needs to barrage you with fundraising appeals.

 

Can Tokyo learn from the American presidential election?

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Can Tokyo learn from the American political ‘matsuri’?

Japan’s politics are as Machiavellian as anyone else’s behind closed doors, but their public campaigns are demure compared to the United States — and many in Tokyo are aghast at the negative campaign tactics used on the road to the White House.

The idea that whoever won the 2008 Democratic nomination would make history was exciting for the Japanese. This time around, most people see the current field of Republican hopefuls as a noisy blur, an only-in-America phenomenon — or a “matsuri,” as one woman described it, in reference to Japan’s colorful, oft-chaotic outdoor festivals.

Too much power: good?

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Too much power is not good for a person or for a nation. It leads to hubris, to the childish illusion of omnipotence, and, even when driven by good intentions, to abuse. In the case of the United States, the illusion of being exceptional, the idea that the “Greatest Nation in the History of the World,” can do anything, is doubtless fed by the manner of the country’s inception. France and the United States are the only Western democracies born from revolution. Like France, the American republic likes to claim that it represents not only the hopes of humankind, but universal values. The American way is the global way, or it jolly well should be.

Imperial Hubris by Ian Buruma (Foreign Policy, November 2011, p. 65)

American Exceptionalism & The 2012 Election

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The 2012 American presidential race is between the incumbent Democrat, Barack Obama, and his Republican challenger, former Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney.  The concept of American exceptionalism is playing into this race as noted in this recent Reuters article (Romney defines hawkish yet murky foreign policy, 12 April 2012).  This article suggests that U.S. foreign policy may figure important to the fall election, though it will never match the American public’s focus on the economy and jobs.

Beyond his success at devastating al-Qaeda with drone strikes and special forces raids – a trend begun under Republican George W. Bush but accelerated by the current administration – Romney’s team argues that Obama’s foreign policy achievements are limited.

By being content to “lead from behind” on issues such as the conflict in Libya, they say Obama has sacrificed America’s dominant global position. The attempted “reset” of relations with Russia has largely been a failure, they say, while planned military cuts could leave potential adversaries such as China and Iran with too great an ability to challenge Washington.

“Governor Romney believes in American exceptionalism, that we are great not just because of our military and economic power but also because of our values,” says Richard Williamson, a leading Republican foreign policy specialist and adviser to the Romney campaign who served in various roles under Ronald Reagan and both Bush administrations.

“The current president does not. … He believes in engagement – which has often not worked – while the governor believes we should say what we believe and work from a position of strength.”