Accidental Blogger

In the aftermath of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination and the turmoil in Pakistan, US presidential candidates of both parties have been scrambling to declare their various degrees of separation from murdered and living Pakistani leaders. Public claims of familiarity with the region’s politics and politicos are meant as code words for the candidates’ command of international affairs. Yet, all of them begin or end their smug boasts with the inevitable admonition to other candidates to "not politicize the tragic death of Benazir Bhutto."

The Times of India sums up the latest examples of desperately silly campaign trail name dropping:

WASHINGTON: Benazir Bhutto’s body was yet to be buried on Friday when her assassination and Pakistan’s potential slide into chaos became fodder for US presidential campaign politics. Every Presidential candidate worth his or her salt claimed the best foreign policy expertise to handle the developments even as the Bush administration struggled to get a handle on the situation.

With most candidates out on the campaign trail ahead of next week’s primaries, sound bites came thick, fast and furious as stump conversation turned from the mortgage crisis at home to murder in distant Pakistan.

"I’ve been to Waziristan, I knew Benazir Bhutto, I know Musharraf very well. And if were president of the United States I would be on the phone right now and I know the best way to address the situation," boasted Republican candidate John McCain, an ardent supporter of the war on Iraq.

On the Democratic side, Joe Biden claimed expertise by virtue of his association with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of which he is currently the chairman. He said he had known Benazir Bhutto since 1988 and had spoken to her several times in recent days.
Some of the sparring got nasty.

Barack Obama’s chief campaign strategist David Axelrod chose the occasion to snipe at Hillary Clinton, saying her vote for the Iraq War in 2002 had taken the focus away from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Al Qaeda and other elements who may have been involved in the Bhutto murder. "That’s a judgment she will have to defend," Axelrod snipped.

Don’t politicize a tragedy, Hillary shot back, while claiming the best expertise on foreign policy by virtue of her eight years in the White House and two terms as Senator.

Nothing remarkable so far. But Mike Huckabee, the uber-Christian candidate of God’s Own Party had the most interesting take on Benazir Bhutto’s death and its global implications. He foresees a spike in Pakistani attacks on US soil.

Republican dark horse Mike Huckabee jumped into the fray with a bizarre reaction tying the developments in Pakistan to illegal immigration across the border from Mexico.

"The fact is, the immigration issue is not so much about people coming to pick lettuce and make beds.
It’s about who can come with shoulder-fired missiles and do serious damage and harm to us…. the unsecured borders we have pose a real national security threat," Huckabee said, claiming more Pakistanis had come illegally to the U.S last year than any other country except "those immediately south of the border." He even had a number for that – 660.

May be if Huckabee becomes president, he can appoint Rudy "9/11" Giuliani as his Security Czar to keep the Pakistanis at bay. While exposing his thin grasp of international affairs and national security, Huckabee also illustrated that his knowledge of geography isn’t rock solid either.

People who questioned my view of foreign policy probably need go back and read the speech that I delivered back in Washington in September. … What we’ve seen happen is that in the Musharraf government, he has told us that he really does not have enough control of those eastern borders near Afghanistan to be able go after the terrorists. But on the other hand, he doesn’t want us going in because it violates his sovereignty.

Oops! Wrong borders. As a Democrat, I am not yet certain which candidate I want to see as my party’s nominee for 2008. But I sure hope that Huckabee is the eventual Republican winner. After eight years of faith based foreign policy and the mess made by a similarly clueless president at the helm, I doubt that in the general elections, sane Republicans and right leaning libertarians will entrust the nation’s fate in the hands of the Huckster from Hope. ….. Go, Huckabee!