2882

Well, chalk it up to “political correctness” then but certainly you can understand how “radical Islam” could be seen as somewhat slanderous to an entire religion whereas “jihadist” actually does come to the heart of the matter in terms of who is fighting and terrorizing us. Unless you’re happy with starting (or continuing) the next Crusades in which case ‘onward Christian soldiers!’ But no good Republican is going to let political correctness go unpunished and that is the cross that the Dems must bear. /snicker

2883

This. She’s a stinking automaton. Total manipulatrix.

2884

What politician with any chance to become president does not pander?

2885

She’s just so transparently fake, I think that’s the root of it.

2886

I’m not asking you to have ethics, I’m asking you to be charming enough that I don’t care.

2887

Ben Carson, foreign policy expert.

Faced with increasing scrutiny about whether Mr. Carson — who leads in some Republican presidential polls — was capable of leading American foreign policy, two of his top advisers said in interviews with The New York Times that he had struggled to master the intricacies of the Middle East and national security and that intense tutoring was having little effect.

“Nobody has been able to sit down with him and have him get one iota of intelligent information about the Middle East,” Duane R. Clarridge, a top adviser to Mr. Carson on terrorism and national security, said in an interview. He also said Mr. Carson needed weekly conference calls briefing him on foreign policy so “we can make him smart.”

This week, Mr. Carson’s advisers said that his source for claiming Chinese involvement in Syria was a telephone conversation he had had with a freelance American intelligence operative in Iraq.

According to notes of the briefing kept by a Carson aide who was also on the line, the operative had said, “Multiple reports have surfaced that Chinese military advisers are on the ground in Syria, operating with Russian special operations personnel.”

Mr. Clarridge, a former C.I.A. agent who had connected Mr. Carson with the operative in Iraq, said on Monday that the information was wrong. The operative in Iraq had “overleaped” in suggesting Chinese troops are in Syria, Mr. Clarridge said, adding of the operative, “You know how it goes when people are desperate for some headline.”

Mr. Williams, one of Mr. Carson’s closest friends, who does not have an official role in the campaign, also lamented the Fox News interview. “He’s been briefed on it so many times,” he said. “I guess he just froze.”

Mr. Carson, 64, who retired as one the world’s foremost pediatric neurosurgeons, has sometimes struggled to adapt his thoughtful manner and speaking style to the rat-a-tat of debates and TV interviews. “Sometimes he overthinks things,” Mr. Williams said, adding that he spoke to Mr. Carson after the Fox News stumble. “I could tell, talking to him, it was a bummer for him.”

2888

So… About Kasich being one of the better candidates…

As part of a broad national security plan to defeat ISIS, Republican Presidential candidate John Kasich proposed creating a new government agency to push Judeo-Christian values around the world.

The new agency, which he hasn’t yet named, would promote a Jewish- and Christian-based belief system to four regions of the world: China, Iran, Russia and the Middle East.

“We need to beam messages around the world” about the freedoms Americans enjoy, Kasich said in an interview with NBC News Tuesday. “It means freedom, it means opportunity, it means respect for women, it means freedom to gather, it means so many things.”

2889

I like how Robert Reich has described the presidential race on his blog: The Perils of Clown Politics

…electoral success depends mainly on showmanship and self-promotion.

Telling the truth and advancing sound policies are less important than trending on social media.

Being reasonable is less useful than gaining attention.

Offering rational argument is less advantageous than racking up ratings.

Such circus politics may be fun to watch, but it’s profoundly dangerous for America and the world.

We might, after all, elect one of the clowns.

2890

I’m an agnostic, but I think he may have a point. Note, he’s not proposing an attempt to convert the heathens (at least, not in the article you cited). He’s proposing that we broadcast support for things like respect for women, freedom of speech and the like. The world would absolutely be a better place if more people shared those values.

I don’t know that it would work. But I do not see anything wrongheaded or offensive about the idea.

2891

What does a judeo-christian belief system have to do with “American freedoms”?

2892

Aptly named.
There’s now one less clown as Jindal is out.

2893

Freedom to be a dick to other people without being called on it?

2894

I think people conflate them all the time. Kasich is certainly doing so, perhaps to help market the idea and his candidacy. I’m just pointing out that the specific values that he proposes to broadcast are ones generally considered to be good ones, values which should be spread.

2895

I looked to big news sites to confirm and didn’t see it there … then realized, yeah, nobody rushes to put up a story about a guy who polls less than 1%.

2896

I just got a text from my local news station about it here in LA, so I guess it’s official than Jindal is out. Thank goodness.

2897

I would expect it to show on memeorandumpretty quick. Nothing yet.

2898

Cnn story on Jindal

2899

Sorry about that, I follow Robert Costa on Twitter. He’s really plugged into Republican politics.
By the way nice link there Pyberkub, didn’t know that existed.

Edit: Not CNN, this one: http://www.memeorandum.com/

2900

And, based on my lifetime of experience living in the South and observing its politics/inhabitants, I’m also a little confused as to how Kasich manages to conflate Political Christianity* with “respect for women.”

  • A term I’ll use so as not to suggest that the entirety of Christianity is as dedicated to eradicating women’s rights as the particular flavor of it that gets you elected and respected in the Southeastern US
2901

One thing students in chef schools learn is that the packaging (the appearance) of the food is just as important as the content (the texture and taste). If you want better success promoting modern democratic ideals, why would you dress them up with your religion unless you’re pandering to your base that consists entirely too much of under-educated evangelicals?