Campaign 2012: Foreign Policy Roundup

Herman Cain continues to attract attention for his comments implying that China does not already have nuclear weapons. The GOP frontrunner now says he misspoke. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wasn’t phased by Cain’s claims, telling radio talk-show host Laura Ingraham that not every presidential candidate starts out as a foreign policy expert. Patrick Brennan of the National Review suggests that Cain’s China gaffe isn’t as bad as it sounds, though it does suggest that the foreign-policy team surrounding him is weak. Ben Adler of the Nation examines the views of one member of that team, J.D. Gordon, Cain’s chief foreign-policy adviser.

Mitt Romney told New Hampshire voters last night that he plans to cut foreign aid to “countries that can take care of themselves” and those “that don’t line up with our interests.” He didn’t specify which countries fall into each category.

Rick Perry told Sean Hannity that he could secure the border with Mexico within one year if he was elected president. Perry also added Victoria Coates, a former aide to former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and Emily Domenech, a former Pentagon employee, to his foreign policy team.

The blogosphere is debating how well Jon Huntsman speaks Mandarin. To the best of my knowledge, Huntsman hasn’t weighed in on that debate. He has, however, presented his plan for eliminating the United States’ “addiction” to foreign oil.