The Presidential discourse has shifted recently from the war and healthcare to the economy, which seems to benefit the GOP's tax cut position. However the federal government's capacity to affect the economy is limited compared to private market forces. Of course there are good arguments both ways as to the degree of impact government policy plays in avoiding recession, but by engaging in these arguments we shift our attention away from the roles government is designed to fill. The President's ability to change foreign policy is undeniable.

Recently Mitt Romney dismissed Ron Paul's warning against acting over-aggressively toward Iran following the speedboat incident by saying, “I think Congressman Paul should not be reading as many of Ahmadinejad's press releases.” It is odd that the media and the Republican Party in general find this to be an acceptable response, and no attention has been given to Romney's inablility to address the issue in the weeks since the debate.

Well, that is not entirely accurate. The progressive and highly democratic blog, crooksandliars.com, took notice of Romney's cop-out. Even though the website leans toward Edwards, they give a surprise compliment to Paul's ability to calmly and rationally analyze the situation. Ron Paul understands that foreign policy involves more than an aggressive military, and he takes the time to understand what other nations are communicating. We all saw Reagan and Rumsfeld shake Sadaam Hussein's hand, yet the Bush Whitehouse was able to vilify him in the eyes of Americans. This is problematic to say the least.

“Yee-haw!” is not a foreign policy. This switch to the economy in the coverage of the Presidential primaries is providing a distraction from the foreign policy debate and allowing candidates like Romney, and of course Giuliani, to get away with their intellectual absenteeism regarding the role of the Presidency.

Furthermore, it is obvious that our foreign policy is in no way benefiting the economy. There are only a select group of people getting rich in the last eight years – the oil companies and the military-industrial complex. Hundreds of bureaucrats from the Department of Homeland Security and other “terror protection agencies” have taken lucrative jobs in the private sector with companies that produce the bombs and rebuild the bridges (with our tax dollars.) The war is a gaping money pit draining the economy. So by letting the candidates appear on FOXnews (and also during the Fox coverage of the Super Bowl!!!) and talk about tax cuts, the media is effectively distracting voters from the real issues at hand. Issues which require knowledge not only of the economy, but also knowledge of Ahmadinejad's press releases.