In the South Carolina GOP debate, candidates talked about the need for covert operations in Iran and criticized Obama on the lack of such operations. At issue is not whether there should be such operations. What is at issue is that the candidates do not know what they are talking about. Precisely because such operations are covert, none of the candidates know whether they exist or not. As far as the debate is concerned, all their talk is just that, hot empty air.
Now Newt Gingrich, riding on a wave of don’t-want-Romney-and-cooling-on-Cain, is taking the matter further. Of course, he still doesn’t know what is going on. Now he advocates taking out Iran’s scientists and hitting Iran’s oil and gasoline infrastructure.
Talk like that may solidify his new approval rating, though that is doubtful. What we have to realize is what some of the consequences are, especially of hitting oil production. For someone who wants to be president of this country, Gingrich is showing an amazing lack of awareness. Which is more likely? Will such action bring about a regime change, or will it cause gas prices in the country to sky rocket and send our economy tumbling into a recession far deeper than the one we are crawling out of? The regime change is unlikely to change, done the Gingrich way, but irresponsible action will certainly bring about the other consequence.