Gary Johnson Doesn't Know What Allepo is

[infinitemeridian]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/us...eppo.html?_r=0

"Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor and Libertarian Party presidential nominee, revealed a surprising lack of foreign policy knowledge on Thursday that could rock his insurgent candidacy when he could not answer a basic question about the crisis in Aleppo, Syria.

“What is Aleppo?” Mr. Johnson said when asked on MSNBC how, as president, he would address the refugee crisis in the war-torn Syrian city.

When pressed as to whether he was serious, Mr. Johnson indicated that he really was not aware of the city, which has been widely covered during the years that Syria has been engulfed in civil war. After Mike Barnicle, an MSNBC commentator who is often part of the “Morning Joe” program panel, explained that Aleppo was the center of Syria’s refugee crisis, Mr. Johnson struggled to recover.

“O.K., got it,” he said, explaining that he thinks that the United States must partner with Russia to diplomatically improve the situation there. “With regard to Syria, I do think that it’s a mess.”

Thoughts?

[Shawken]

Irrelevant when you look at who else is running. Should he have known? Yea, I guess. He knows there is a problem in Syria. Everyone knows that. I am not sure how concerned I am that he didn't know the name of a city.

The name of the city has nothing to do with how you handle fixing Syria.

There are going to be tons of people that have major problems with this, which is terribly ironic considering you have literally the two worst candidates ever running for the major parties.

[LilSaihah]

Not a surprising gaff. Libertarian policy is mainly domestic policy. I doubt this will actually receive any kind of MSM attention beyond "it happened" though; the chance of actually convincing libertarians to vote towards the democrats is slim to nil.

[Forgettable]

I don't know what Allepo is either.

Well I do after reading your tidbit OP. But still. Not really useful to most people to know the name of a city in Syria.

[Ratyrel]

Irrelevant when you look at who else is running. Should he have known? Yea, I guess. He knows there is a problem in Syria. Everyone knows that. I am not sure how concerned I am that he didn't know the name of a city.

The name of the city has nothing to do with how you handle fixing Syria.

There are going to be tons of people that have major problems with this, which is terribly ironic considering you have literally the two worst candidates ever running for the major parties.

Though I'm being provocative here, it suggests he literally does not watch the news. I don't think that's a terribly desirable trait in a politician of any caliber.

[Annoying]

He posted a response to it:

This morning, I began my day by setting aside any doubt that I’m human. Yes, I understand the dynamics of the Syrian conflict — I talk about them every day. But hit with “What about Aleppo?”, I immediately was thinking about an acronym, not the Syrian conflict. I blanked. It happens, and it will happen again during the course of this campaign.

Can I name every city in Syria? No. Should I have identified Aleppo? Yes. Do I understand its significance? Yes.

As Governor, there were many things I didn’t know off the top of my head. But I succeeded by surrounding myself with the right people, getting to the bottom of important issues, and making principled decisions. It worked. That is what a President must do.

That would begin, clearly, with daily security briefings that, to me, will be fundamental to the job of being President.

As for my thoughts? He needs to get to 15% pretty badly. At this point, any press is good press for him. Hopefully this small blunder will get people to take a look at his platform and get him to the 15% to be in the debates. I'd love a 3 party debate.

[Shawken]

Though I'm being provocative here, it suggests he literally does not watch the news. I don't think that's a terribly desirable trait in a politician of any caliber.

I am aware of the Syrian crisis and was not sure what Aleppo was. If there is a hurricane in Louisiana, should I be angry that someone doesn't know the name of a city that was hit predominantly hard?

It just seems completely irrelevant. Should he have known, yes. Would it change anything about how he would have to handle Syria? Absolutely not.

If you listen to Johnson, Trump and Clinton talk about foreign policy, and Johnson not knowing the name of a city in Syria sways you to their side, we have bigger problems (which we do, we are screwed).

[May90]

I had no idea what Aleppo was before this thread, I thought it was some Mexican magnate or something... Guess Gary is my candidate!

[Crissi]

Considering a President has a larger influence / responsibility internationally than domestically (in that domestically he also has to deal with Congress)... I dont think this is a positive at all.

[Kuntantee]

Ignorant leaders. Avoid them like a plague.

[infinitemeridian]

Considering a President has a larger influence / responsibility internationally than domestically (in that domestically he also has to deal with Congress)... I dont think this is a positive at all.

I have to agree. Johnson claims to understand the crisis in Syria, but not knowing what Aleppo is directly undermines that statement.

This isn't just picking at straws. He's running for the highest office in the land, a position largely focused on international affairs. This stuff matters.

[Dellis0991]

I don't know what Allepo is either.

Well I do after reading your tidbit OP. But still. Not really useful to most people to know the name of a city in Syria.

^I'm in the same boat shit I didn't even know what Allepo is...I pretty sure most folks who aren't Syrian or don't live there wouldn't know that name off the top of their skull. If you where to ask me to name a city in there I couldn't give you a name because it not something apart of my everyday life. This should not be a big deal.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

I don't know what Allepo is either.

Well I do after reading your tidbit OP. But still. Not really useful to most people to know the name of a city in Syria.

^I'm in the same boat shit I didn't even know what Allepo is...I pretty sure most folks who aren't Syrian or don't live there wouldn't know that name off the top of their skull. If you where to ask me to name a city in there I couldn't give you a name because it not something apart of my everyday life. This should not be a big deal.

If you want to be President, I would think that you shouldn't be living under a rock with regard to foreign news from the last 12 months, and criticizing a Presidential candidate (at least in a theoretical capacity) for not knowing one of the biggest cities in Syria is perfectly justified.

[Independent voter]

It's a city in Syria full of Syrian Sunnis that the Russians are bombing the hell out of.

[hydrium]

I am aware of the Syrian crisis and was not sure what Aleppo was. If there is a hurricane in Louisiana, should I be angry that someone doesn't know the name of a city that was hit predominantly hard?

It just seems completely irrelevant. Should he have known, yes. Would it change anything about how he would have to handle Syria? Absolutely not.

If you listen to Johnson, Trump and Clinton talk about foreign policy, and Johnson not knowing the name of a city in Syria sways you to their side, we have bigger problems (which we do, we are screwed).

If they were running for office then yea you should be angry and wary that they are ill-informed.

[Barnabas]

Was this the daily double? Even if the fighting stopped in Syria they wouldn't have much of a tax base to work with since over half the country left.

[Aenwyrm]

I don't have a clue what Allepo is. I know what Aleppo is though, it's the correct spelling of a city in Syria.

[unbound]

Thoughts?

To be honest, I don't see it affecting him. Any news helps him at this point. People who support Libertarian economic policies don't understand real world economics, so I don't expect that they'll understand what the hubbub is about foreign policies and understanding key players / key cities either.

[Underverse]

He posted a response to it:



As for my thoughts? He needs to get to 15% pretty badly. At this point, any press is good press for him. Hopefully this small blunder will get people to take a look at his platform and get him to the 15% to be in the debates. I'd love a 3 party debate.

Yeah that's a pretty on-point response from him. How he handled this lapse in knowledge tells more of his character than the lapse of knowledge itself.

[Biged781]

I don't know what Allepo is either.

Well I do after reading your tidbit OP. But still. Not really useful to most people to know the name of a city in Syria.

Yeah well you're not running for president, so that's a dumb analogy.