Of the long list of contenders in this long campaign season, the GOP congressman from Texas more than any other has argued for ending America’s military engagements around the world, dropping foreign aid, and defending U.S. borders as the sum total of foreign policy—in short, isolationism.
In a 90-minute debate at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., that focused on foreign policy, President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney both borrowed from Paul’s isolationist bent and stridency, while lacking the Republican renegade’s coherence. Both tried to show they understood America’s place in the world but seemed captive to U.S. polls showing most voters lack interest in international relations.
