Instead of Trump did we just get Ron Paul?

The proof will be in the pudding, as they say, but President-elect Donald Trump just gave a speech in Fayetteville, NC that sounds like it was written by Rep. Ron Paul or his son, Sen. Rand Paul. Okay, not the whole speech, but 90%, at least, of this quote:

We will stop racing to topple foreign–and you understand this–foreign regimes that we know nothing about, that we shouldn’t be involved with. Instead, our focus must be on defeating terrorism and destroying ISIS, and we will.

One thing is for sure. Hillary Clinton would never have said this.

Like you, I was immediately curious about what the old Iraq War-lovers were thinking. Sure enough, about the time Trump was giving this speech, Jennifer Rubin was busy typing up this mess of Cold War rhetoric.

Will Trump be weaker than Obama on Russia? https://t.co/tojqJQMFlh

— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) December 6, 2016

Much (of my) attention has been focused on why Trump seems to be in Putin’s thrall. Is it financial self-interest, adulation of a dictator, misinformation from a duped national security adviser or all of the above? Whatever the reason, Trump and his aides should understand that when the United States gives Russia whatever it wants, it doubles down on Obama’s inept negotiating posture. When it gives way to Russia on Syria, it bolsters not only Putin but also Iran, signaling that the United States has no serious interest in restraining aggressive powers. These would personify weakness and “losing” on the international scene. It would be ironic if Trump makes the Obama-Clinton approach to Russia look robust by comparison. When are we going to start winning against Russia? (lol)

*Don’t worry, I have no illusions about Mr. Trump being principled, but his words on this subject are a huge breath of fresh air!