Only one candidate has a serious foreign policy
By David French / The New York Times
What if we’re on the cusp of a new Cold War, but have only one serious political party?
It’s hard to grasp Donald Trump’s foreign policy extremism without remembering the Cold War. I distinctly remember the hawk/dove dynamic of the 1980s. The Reagan Republicans were deemed the hawks — pressing for expanded nuclear capabilities and for a much more capable conventional force. The Democrats were the doves. They wanted to emphasize arms control, for example, and strongly criticized the Reagan administration for its alliances with illiberal or authoritarian anti-Soviet regimes.
The differences between the two sides were meaningful, but one thing was certain; both sides were serious. For example, let’s take the first election that I closely followed; the 1984 contest between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale.
The Democratic platform emphasized enhanced conventional warfare capability to decrease reliance on the nuclear deterrent. It emphasized “close consultation” with NATO allies, and the first bullet point under “defense policy” began with these words: “Work with our NATO and other allies to ensure our collective security.”
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/david-french-only-one-candidate-has-a-serious-foreign-policy/
