Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Candidate Herman Cain on Foreign Policy

From "Meet the Press", October 16th:

MR. GREGORY: What about foreign policy advisers? Who, who has shaped your thinking about the U.S. in the world and foreign policy?

MR. CAIN: I've looked at the writings of people like Ambassador John Bolton. I've looked at the writings of Dr. Harry--Henry Kissinger. KT McFarland, someone who I respect. So...

MR. GREGORY: Would you describe yourself as a neoconservative then?

MR. CAIN: I'm not sure what you mean by neoconservative? I am a conservative, yes. Neoconservative, labels sometimes will put you in a box. I'm very conservative, but...

MR. GREGORY: But you're familiar with the neoconservative movement?

MR. CAIN: I'm not familiar with the neoconservative movement. I'm familiar with the conservative movement. And let me define what I mean by the conservative movement. Less government, less taxes, more individual responsibility.

...MR. GREGORY: You said in the summertime, you told my colleague Savannah Guthrie, that you were still getting up to speed about foreign policy. You remember in the last campaign Hillary Clinton ran that ad against President Obama, then Senator Obama, "the 3 AM phone call."

MR. CAIN: Right.

MR. GREGORY: You know, the--in an international crisis, you want to know that the commander in chief is tested and ready. What do you say to Americans who wonder whether you're ready at this point to be commander in chief.

MR. CAIN: I would say to them, `First of all, consider my philosophy to foreign policy and my principles.' That's where you start. You can collect the information and make an informed decision. My philosophy is an extension of the Reagan philosophy, peace through strength and clarity. It's not clear who all of our friends are. It's not clear who our enemies are. I believe we need to clearly define who our friends are, clearly define who our enemies are, and then let the rest of the world know we will stand by our friends...

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