The Final Presidential Debate: Mitt Romney, the Peacenik(??!!!)

   The single sound-bite that seems to be resonating throughout the nation,  if not the whole planet,  is the President's  "horses and bayonets"  zinger aimed directly at  Mitt Romney.   The context: 

"You [Romney] mentioned that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916.  Well,  Governor,  we also have fewer horses and bayonets --- because the nature of our military has changed.  We have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them.  We have these ships that go underwater,  nuclear submarines.  It's not a game of battleships where we're counting ships.  It's  what are our capabilities."

Other than Romney's declaration that the U.S. military is not properly fortified,   the Governor appeared to be in synch with most of the President's  foreign policy priorites.  Overall,   his intent seemed to be the presentation of a "kinder,  gentler Romney".  (A lame attempt to woo the women's vote,  maybe)?  In regard to Iran,  both men seemed to be focusing on sanctions,  as opposed to military action.   However,  Obama did state that Romney had a history  of recommending premature military action.   The Governor managed to avoid a response.

But somehow,  Romney's seeming affirmation of most of Obama's  foreign policy statements appears just a shade suspicious.  Here's why:   Lurking in the wings offstage,  anxiously awaiting the opportunity to start chewing up the scenery, are some of the baddest of the bad neocon nutcakes whom the Mittster has chosen as his foreign policy gurus.  Principal among them is John Bolton,  George W. Bush's United Nations-hating  United Nations ambassador.   This is the same John Bolton who has never met a bomb he didn't like;   especially if said bomb happens to have the name Iran  etched into its casing.

Overall,  17 of Romney's 24 advisors are alumni of Bush the Younger's foreign policy team:   the very ones who helped bring us the tragedy that was Iraq.   Two among those notables come readily to mind:

     - Dan  Senor:  One of the major architects of Operation
                Iraqi Freedom which,  among other things, 
                attempted to force the Iraqis to do business The     
                Unbridled Free Enterprise Way via the ill-fated 
                Coalition Provisional Authority.

    - Cofer Black:  A CIA counter-terrorism operative who
                later became vice chairman of Blackwater USA,
                one of the largest private security contractors to
                benefit from US action in Iraq.   Some of their
                activities were found to be beyond the pale of
                what was considered moral or  legal.

So,  is it realistic to assume that a Romney foreign policy
would be similar to Obama's?   Well,  during the debate,  the Governor seemed to affirm almost everything the President said.  

I guess there's no logical reason to be cynical regarding Romney's intentions,  is there?   And elephants lay eggs.  Yes,  they do!