Hillary Clinton and the other Democratic candidates have been pushing the theme that Barack Obama doesn’t have the chops to conduct American foreign policy. Not so, says Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor.
Sound Bite: “I think there is a need for a fundamental rethinking of how we conduct world affairs and Obama seems to me to have both the guts and the intelligence to address that issue and to change the nature of America’s relationship with the world.”
Is an endorsement that’s associated with Jimmy Carter’s presidency a good thing?
“Is an endorsement that’s associated with Jimmy Carter’s presidency a good thing?”
A fair point. But one can’t deny zBig’s “street credz” on these issues. And, these days, no matter what presidency he worked for, it’s hard to find quarrel with his first point: Everyone else is wrong right now. Strangely, Obama’s lack of Policy “chops”–meaning in-the-box thinking– may be his best asset in the coming months.
Brzezinski has pretty much developed his own personality since the Carter administration and even then he had the reputation as a hawk - indeed he kinda looks like one. But it is always helpful when someone who has actually been in the arena says that Obama has what it takes to be successful, particularly when the person has no dog in the fight. Speaking of football, its as if Tom Brady came out and said “Of course Brady Quinn can play quaterback in the NFL.” Its a stamp of approval from someone who knows.