John Bolton is rebuffing the notion that, if he jumps into the presidential race, he is a single-issue candidate focused only on foreign policy.
In an interview with Rick Amato, the former United Nations ambassador said he’s not running just to make a point about national security and emphasized his economic views.
“One thing that’s become clear to me as I’ve looked into this is that if you’re simply a one-issue candidate, you end up getting marginalized,” Bolton said. “I’ve recognized that this would have to be a campaign that would cover the full range of issues, including the mess that the president’s economic policies have left the country in. If I ran, it would not simply be to raise national security issues. If I ran, I would run it to win it.”
Bolton said he supports the Paul Ryan budget as a starting point for economic reform.
“I think the way the House Republicans have started off with the Ryan budget, aiming to get federal expenditures back to their 2008 levels as the first step is exactly the right way to go,” Bolton said. “I think there’s more to do there. I think it’s critical that we tackle entitlement programs, Medicare and Medicaid, including social security.”
Despite his claims that a potential candidacy would not be a niche affair, Bolton is well-positioned to take advantage of the dearth of foreign policy experience currently in the 2012 field. His lengthy tenure in government began at the U.S. Agency for International Development during the Reagan administration and he held ranking positions in the State Department in both Bush administrations.
Bolton has not given President Barack Obama’s a reprieve from criticism of his foreign policy credentials since the killing of Osama bin Laden. Calling Obama’s leadership on national security “woefully inadequate,” he said the president has ignored troubling situations on the world stage, including in Russia, China and Mexico.
“The world is full of problems that the president is basically still not addressing,” Bolton said.
{Capitol News Company, LLC/Matzav.com Newscenter}
