I consider him an opportunist, when he isn't an outright clown.
That said, why the hell is it necessary for him to know anything about Aleppo?
Justin Raimondo got it right, when he tweeted out:
Nobody cares where Aleppo is -- except the pundits who want us to intervene in Syria. https://t.co/as9EsaL0Rb— Justin Raimondo (@JustinRaimondo) September 8, 2016
Why am I discussing Johnson's knowledge of Aleppo?
Because of this.
This strikes me as a possible setup question. The way Hugh Hewitt asked Donald Trump about the defense triad. That is, ask a question that is not part of common knowledge but that could be claimed that it is something a presidential candidate should know.
The Aleppo question really looks like a setup when you consider how mainstream media pounded on Johnson's honest answer that he didn't know what Aleppo was.
This is from my current Google news feed:
Gary Johnson's Rick Perry moment
Gary Johnson just has one simple question: 'And what is Aleppo?'Politics|'What Is Aleppo?' Gary Johnson Asks, in an Interview StumbleGary Johnson: 'I Feel Horrible' About Aleppo AnswerRealClearPolitics - Election 2016 - General Election: Trump vs. Clinton vs. Johnson vs. SteinWill 'What is Aleppo?' transform presidential race?What Is Aleppo?
Politico -
It appears that Johnson is pulling votes away from Hillary Clinton. It make sense for the Clinton-supporting mainstream media to knock down Johnson. "Hey, the idiot doesn't know about Aleppo!"
If a guy is focused on domestic problems and really sees U.S. intervention in the Middle East as a mistake, why should he have to know the exact hot spots, if he wants U.S. involvement in the area ended in all spots? There would be no reason he would need to have any focus on Aleppo.
Further, Johnson's reply after learning the question was really about Syria is pretty decent. He talks about joining with Russia and bringing a diplomatic end to the hostilities---that is ending the fighting. Not bad. Of course, the libertarian solutions is that the U.S. should have no role in the Syrian conflict diplomatic or otherwise.
But MSM has no focus on his complete answer just that he didn't know what Aleppo was. No doubt Gary Johnson will lose poll points as a result of this curious question and the follow-up MSM attack.
-RW
Any candidate could be asked a question where their knowledge fails them. However, softballs are for the anointed, which GJ is not. It matters little to me, since I'm not voting for ANY of them.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that a US presidential candidate was ignorant of Aleppo. It is the site of a major ongoing four year old battle of the civil war and is frequently in the news.
ReplyDeleteSince the US is mired in this country and its civil war and is taking sides and arming various factions fighting Assad I would think that Johnson would want some knowledge of what this government is doing over there.
Most Americans would respond the same way Johnson did. I don't see why they'll care about this supposed gaffe or Johnson.
ReplyDeleteI knew about Aleppo but might have only recognized the written word. Johnson should start ranting at the MSM that they have covered up Obama's and Hillary's support for al Qaeda in Libya and in Syria (and ISIS too) and how Israel wants the destruction of the secular Arab nations. And how the MSM have never mentioned that Obama overthrew the elected government of Ukraine and installed real Nazis.
ReplyDeletewhat would have Ron Paul said? "Well we might be in a place only if its Constitutional and serves a national interest not just of a few in Washington"
ReplyDeleteGary just falls for anything