One of the chief complaints made about the Republican presidential debates thus far has been the lack of focus by the candidates on foreign policy and national security. If Saturday, Nov. 12's Republican debate, which focused exclusively on the topic, was any indication, be careful what you wish for. It was the first opportunity for the major GOP candidates to talk at length about their visions for America's role in the world, and it wasn't particularly pretty.
While the debate was constricted -- as any 90-minute discussion with eight candidates is destined to be -- what Americans got to hear was a whole lot of Obama-bashing; scaremongering about Iran, China, and terrorism; unqualified backing for America's apparently greatest ally, Israel; some impassioned support for torture (and a few condemnations as well); an abundance of criticism for the approximately 1 percent of the U.S. budget spent on foreign aid; and some rather muddled but occasionally interesting explanations about what the United States should do in Afghanistan and Pakistan. (And there was Herman Cain and his unique brand of foreign-policy stylings.)
All in all it was a pretty mixed bag. But with the next foreign-policy debate only eight days away, the candidates are finally getting their foreign-policy ducks in a row. Let's take a look at how the GOP field did and how they're shaping up.
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