Bill Kristol comments on the foreign policy debate in typical fashion:

It’s not 1939. But the clouds are darkening and storms are gathering. Americans sense the dangers we face. So in the foreign policy debate for the rest of the campaign, Mitt Romney’s task is not merely to speak for the Republican party and conservative opponents of Barack Obama. Nor is his task merely to speak to undecided suburban women. Mitt Romney’s task is to rise above partisanship and gamesmanship, above debating points and electoral calculations. Mitt Romney’s task is to speak for America.

I suppose it’s a small mercy that Kristol can concede that it isn’t 1939, but the rest of this is nonsense. Americans may perceive threats to the U.S., but they have usually been exaggerated, and the threats that the U.S. faces now are remarkably small and manageable when compared to what they have been in the past. If there are any gathering storms in the world, they do not threaten America. On most foreign policy issues, Romney has not spoken and cannot speak for most Americans, much less all Americans. He has repeatedly sided with the 20-30% that want more interventions abroad, more entanglements, and more unnecessary conflicts, and it is reasonable to assume that if elected he will continue to side with them against the majority of the country that wants fewer of these or none at all.