The debate between CNN Democratic strategist Paul Begala and Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Caller Tucker Carlson on Thursday came with lots of jabs and plenty of one-liners, but when it came to foreign policy the two men were all business, disagreeing on almost every point.
“The George W. Bush method of invade, conquer and occupy is stupid,” Begala said.
He added that President Obama’s policy of only finding key targets is the kind of military that will save American lives and aid in developing countries such as Afghanistan.
“America has to be the world’s policemen because other nations are too cheap,” Carlson countered.
The boxing match-style debate — held at the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference and moderated by Colin Hanna — followed a three round format, covering topics that ranged all over the map, from the responsibility of America’s military, to each opponent’s views of Satan and the IRS.
When it came to Benghazi, Begala, a former senior White House aide to President Bill Clinton, defended his former boss’ wife on the Benghazi issue by saying that instead of Democrats being the ones who let down the American people, it was the Republicans, due to their insistence on “cutting the defense budget.”
Begala’s response naturally garnered a plethora of boos from the conservative audience.
Tucker used part of his time to take a jab at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for asking “What difference, at this point, does it make?” when appearing before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the U.S. consulate attacks in Libya on September 11, 2012.
“Details matter,” Tucker said. “The truth matters. That’s how you prevent it [a terrorist attack] from happening.”
And when it came to the sequester, the men again disagreed.
“It was the Y2K of politics,” Tucker said. “It was a big deal at first. Then it happened and no one even noticed.”
Begala countered that the act of automatic spending cuts triggered by Congress’ indecisive action was “ridiculously dumb.”
Although the divisions were stark, there was one person in particular the two agreed on; Hugo Chavez.
When asked their thoughts on the recent death of the socialist leader both agreed “he will take a seat next to Satan in Hell.”
It may not be much, but in this boxing match — of which Tucker was labelled the winner — there was at least one issue that these two political opposites could agree on.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9Y1jKbk7qA&w=560&h=315]
