Krugman - Dealing With The Dragon - New Prez will need to negotiate, not bloviate

Doctor_J

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Fri Jan-04-08 11:50 AM
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Krugman - Dealing With The Dragon - New Prez will need to negotiate, not bloviate

"Indeed, back in 2001, when he reneged on his campaign promise to limit greenhouse gas emissions, President Bush cited the fact that the Kyoto treaty didn�t include China and India as an excuse for doing nothing. But the real problem is how to make China part of the solution.

So what does all this tell us about the presidential race?

On the Republican side, foreign policy talk is all bluster and braggadocio. To listen to the G.O.P. candidates, you�d think it was still February 2003, when the national discourse was dominated by people who thought that American military might was sufficient to shock and awe the rest of the world into doing our bidding.

...

A lot of Americans, when they think about the next president�s foreign-policy qualifications, seem to be looking for a hero � someone who will stand tall against terrorists, or transform the world with his optimism.

But what they should be looking for is something more prosaic � a good negotiator, someone who can bargain effectively with some very tough customers and get the deals we need on energy, currency policy and carbon credits.
"

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/04/opinion/04krugman.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

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Bonhomme Richard

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Fri Jan-04-08 12:11 PM
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1. I disagree. Trying to negotiate with these bastards........

got us into this mess in the first place. For once and for all...THEY DO NOT NEGOTIATE IN GOOD FAITH BECAUSE IN THEIR EYES THE END ALWAYS JUSTIFIES THE MEANS. I am sick and tired of the democrats being the Charlie Brown to Lucy's football.
Screw Em.

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Doctor_J

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Fri Jan-04-08 12:22 PM
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3. Read the article - it's about negotiating with China & the world,

not with the psychos who watch/run Fox "News"

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Demeter

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Fri Jan-04-08 12:21 PM
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2. Not Only Is China To Big to Be Bullied, and Too Cynical To Be Charmed

as Krugman noted. China is also more corrupt than BushWorld (go figure) and with much less infrastructure, they are fundamentally more fragile than the West. What they have is lots of hard-working people who until recently haven't demanded much. That is changing: as the populace is exposed to the examples of the rising local economic elite and the comfortable West, demands and expectations are rising. China is not above cutting corners to deal with that, as we have seen in Tianeman Square, counterfeit medicine, lead in toys, and poisoned foods and pet foods.

Throw in the multinational corporations, and the imbalance between male/female populations, and you have a recipe for major disaster that can spread to the world at large. Especially when they find their savings in dollars aren't worth the paper they are printed on.

Fasten your seatbelts. It's gonna be a bumpy ride.

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windoe

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Fri Jan-04-08 12:36 PM
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4. Negotiation is not a weak stance.

This fallacy has fed our isolationism and caused others to retreat further into their corners of the world. Skilled negotation is an art, and a high skill practiced by generations before this last administration decided to do away with diplomacy altogether.

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