NEWS AND OPINION:
JOHN BOLTON’S TEST FOR PRESIDENTS
His observations come at a critical time. Former U.S. Ambassador John R. Bolton has determined five fundamental questions for voters to ask presidential candidates who aspire to lead the nation in a dangerous world:
What is America’s proper place in the world? How does U.S. foreign policy affect domestic policy? What are the primary threats and opportunities America faces abroad? How should America respond to those threats and opportunities? What resources are required for our national defense?
“The president’s principle job is to keep our country safe and be ready on day one,” says Mr. Bolton. “At a time when America’s international influence is declining at an ever-faster pace, these questions provide a solid foundation to encourage voters to probe the depth of understanding of their aspiring leaders.”
Find the complete explanations for the “Bolton Test’ here
WISHFUL THINKING
“I would’ve enjoyed campaigning against Trump. That would’ve been fun.”
— President Obama, pondering Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, to GQ magazine.
WISHFUL THINKING PT. 2
“I really don’t think it’s me being asked, but as I say, if I were asked, I’d do it.”
—Sarah Palin on whether she’d consider running as a vice-presidential candidate, to Extra TV.
WISHFUL THINKING PT. 3
SEE ALSO: John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Lindsey Graham tout experience in wake of Paris attacks
Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush gets an ideal venue to talk up his ideas about national security, terrorism and the basic need to rebuild the U.S. military. He’ll deliver a significant speech at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, in Charleston on Wednesday at high noon. Mr. Bush has recently taken a more aggressive stance on such things, telling Fox News this week that President Obama had no strategy against the Islamic State and was getting the nation into “a quagmire.” Mr. Bush advised that the U.S. should be “merciless” in its effort against terrorists.
Yes, C-SPAN will cover the event at the Citadel, beginning at 12 p.m. ET.
THE POPULATION TO COME
Changes loom on the horizon.
“As of 2010, there were 4.8 million Muslims in Germany (5.8 percent of the country’s population) and 4.7 million Muslims in France (7.5 percent). In Europe overall, however, Russia’s population of 14 million Muslims (10 percent) is the largest on the continent,” reports Pew Research Center demographer Conrad Hackett.
It is a growing demographic. The total number of Muslims in Europe was 29.6 million in 1990, reaching 44.1 million five years ago and projected to exceed 58 million by 2030, according to the organization’s statistics.
“In recent decades, the Muslim share of the population throughout Europe grew about 1 percentage point a decade, from 4 percent in 1990 to 6 percent in 2010. This pattern is expected to continue through 2030, when Muslims are projected to make up 8 percent of Europe’s population,” Mr. Hackett continues.
“In 2010, the median age of Muslims throughout Europe was 32, eight years younger than the median for all Europeans. By contrast, the median age of religiously unaffiliated people in Europe, including atheists, agnostics and those with no religion in particular, was 37. The median age of European Christians was 42.”
GIVE US OUR AIRTIME
During his recent appearance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump was on camera for 12 minutes and five seconds. Three of his distant rivals now want equal treatment, citing FCC regulations that would require the broadcaster to grant airtime to opposing candidates.
Both Ohio Gov. John Kasich and George Pataki have demanded time from NBC stations in Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and South Carolina; Sen. Lindsey Graham made the request with NBC affiliates in Iowa alone.
“While Kasich has done well enough in the polls to be on the main stage for all four GOP primary debates, the requests by Pataki and Graham are last-ditch efforts to drum up support,” observes Ad Age media analyst Tim Baysinger.
VOWING TO VOTE PRO-LIFE
LifeNews.com — an online compendium of pro-life news coverage — has created a pro-life voter’s pledge to support like-minded presidential candidates. “Each and every day in the United States, thousands of unborn children are killed in abortions and over 57 million unborn babies have been aborted since the Supreme Court issued the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 allowing virtually unlimited abortions,” the pledge reads.
“The next President of the United States must do everything possible to end abortion. The next president must do everything possible to stop the abortion industry and to stop taxpayer funding of abortions and the Planned Parenthood abortion business. To help end the travesty of abortion, I pledge to only vote for a candidate for president who is pro-life and will do everything possible to protect unborn children.”
FOXIFIED
The sister networks run by Roger Ailes have aced it. Both Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network were among the top five most watched cable channels during prime time last week, with Fox News in second place behind ESPN, and Fox Business in fourth place behind the Hallmark Channel. And the competition? CNN was 16th in prime time, MSNBC 22nd. FOX Business had the No. 1 program across all cable shows — the broadcast of the fourth Republican debate, which pulled in 13.5 million viewers, a record for the network.
POLL DU JOUR
• 77 percent of Americans agree that “too many people are afraid to say what they really think.”
• 66 percent agree that “everyday Americans understand what the government should do better than the so called experts.”
• 53 percent say America’s culture has “changed for the worse” since the 1950s.
• 49 percent say America’s best days are “behind us”; 49 percent say America’s best days “are in front of us.”
• 48 percent are “bothered” when they encounter immigrants who speak little or no English.
Source: An American Values Survey of 2,695 U.S. adults conducted Sept. 11- Oct. 4 and released Tuesday.
• Murmurs and asides to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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