This may shock you but not everybody has gone to Bible class.
Count me as one of the people who think this was a flub but not remotely a disqualifying one. Knowing the name offhand of one specific rebel stronghold city in Syria is not that big a deal.
A president knowing what Aleppo means is about as important as a New Mexico governor knowing what “red or green?” means.
If you don’t know, you’re in serious trouble, and saying you had a brain fart doesn’t begin to explain it.
Aleppo, of course, is the major port city of Ubekibekibekibekistanstan. Score one for Herman Cain!
Bible class is only one of many places one might have encountered the name of the city of Aleppo. History class is another. Or just, you know, reading and being aware.
This was a HUGE flub on the part of a Presidential candidate.
Kind of like what they said about Scott Walker a year ago: he was “cramming” for the debates, studying hard to get an understanding of international affairs and other important issues. I think most people would prefer a president who has a natural inclination to read about these things rather than having to “cram”.
OTOH, Johnson is a Libertarian: most of those people, as I understand it, are quasi-isolationists who feel that the rest of the world, like the economy, is better off without interference from the awful USofA government. In that respect, he is being true to he ideology.
I always thought Aleppo was one of the Marx Brothers; you know, the syrious one.
I agree. If it was just Bible study it would be easier to write off as obscure. How about any reading of the history of the ME especially as it relates to the West (Crusades for example)? And the Syrian civil war, with long ongoing multi-sided Stalingrad type battle in and around Aleppo, is a major world event. You don’t have to be an American favoring US intervention there to think so. That kind of ignorance I’d expect from Trump, kind of surprising from Johnson, though I haven’t thought up to now Johnson is a really serious person either. Between the two of them though it’s something like Von Moltke’s 4 categories of officer. Trump is more of the incompetent and energetic type, the dangerous ones. Johnson more the incompetent and (mentally) lazy who take care of themselves (competent and lazy best as leaders because they look for the easiest solution, competent and energetic are best to be staff officers, ie advisors, to make plans for leaders).
Isolationism is not a good excuse for ignorance of the world. In practical terms the US is going to be involved to some degree. The country isn’t going to become Switzerland: it’s too big. The issue is picking and choosing carefully, for which ignorance is not a useful tool.
I don’t like out of the blue “gotcha” questions such as What is the capital of Equatorial Guinea or Who is the leader of Tuvalu. But, anyone who has been spending 15 minutes with a major newspaper over the past couple weeks should know Aleppo.
But he still isn’t Hillary. To many of his supporters, that’s what matters.
golf clap
One of the problems of Libertarianism is that it thinks there are simple, elegant answers for complex questions. When everything is solvable based on an unthinking recitation of simplistic dogma, why bother learning stuff?
Also, I was totally going to make the Marx Brother comment. #squintsatchefguy
You encouraged him! You should chip in if we have to rent bloodhounds.
I would lay serious money that Aleppo was not discussed in most people’s history classes, unless they took college level Middle East History. I have read about the recent chlorine gas attacks and I’m sure I read about earlier military standoffs around the city but I still have a hard time seeing this as a massive disqualifying error.
The past couple weeks? The war has been going on for more than five years, with Aleppo a major scene of fighting. Assad forces have killed thousands of civilians there since 2013, with indiscriminate bombing. If you just read about Aleppo in August, you’re not really in a position to criticize Gary Johnson.
TBMK, dalej42 is not actually running for president. I should hope a person who seeks that office knows more about stuff than I do. Or than dalej42 does.
I think this is exactly what happened. He also could have heard “a LEPO.” If you watch the entire clip, they were talking about the “Nader effect” and his candidacy right before Barnicle jumped in with “If you were president, what would you do about Aleppo.” No context, complete change of subject. Johnson said “a lepeau?”/“ULEPO?”/a LEPO?"
At that point a reporter who isn’t playing “gotcha” would have said, “yes, the city that’s on the front lines in the conflict in Syria,” or whatever. Or they would have used a more common phrase to refer to the crisis like “the Syrian conflict” or “ISIS” in the first place. Instead Barnicle stuck with his bizarre metonymy and just said “a lepeau.”/“ULEPO”/“a LEPO.” So Johnson said “what’s a lepeau/ULEPO/a LEPO?” Barnicle says “you’re kidding” as though he had no idea how obtuse he was being. Once Barnicle finally clarified what he was asking about (which he should have done in the first place), Johnson gave his answer about negotiating with the Russians.
I agree with Chefguy and Silenus, my answer to the question (if I heard it right) would have been “As President I would buy more of it from Penzy’s and continue to put it on my pizza.”
Aleppo didn’t ring a bell for me either. But this is a serious flub. Vox.com: [INDENT][INDENT] Aleppo is a city located in northwest Syria near the Turkish border. It’s the capital of the eponymous Aleppo province, and was the country’s most populated city before the war. Today it’s perhaps the most significant battlefield in the defining conflict in Syria: fighting between Bashar al-Assad and various different anti-government rebel factions. (ISIS is not a major player in Aleppo City, though it has a presence in Aleppo province.) Aleppo, explained for non-experts and Gary Johnson | Vox [/INDENT][/INDENT] The problem isn’t Gary Johnson’s poor grasp of geography. The problem is that he clearly hasn’t received detailed briefings on the Syria situation. Because if he had, he would not have drawn a blank.
I have not received detailed briefings on Syria either. But I am not running for President. But to be fair, neither is Gary Johnson.
That Trump had not heard of Brexit back in May is worse. Firstly, because he is the Republican nominee. And secondly, because one can have a passing acquaintance with Syria without recalling the name of the city Aleppo. But Brexit is basically the name of the story about the British referendum.
I wonder whether Weld has hit the briefing books. I trust that Kaine has.
oh, burn
To be fair though I think a large number of us, not all but many, are aware of Aleppo even without briefing books just because we actually we read and listen to real news about what’s going on.
Someone even pretending to run for president should be aware of its importance in current events.
It’s kind of an odd question to pop out with, though. Has any other candidate had any pretense of doing anything “about Aleppo”?
Although there were early hopes, I don’t think any Johnson supporters at this point actually expect him to win, so his qualifications at this point are irrelevant. Barring an unexpected rise in the polls, he’s a protest vote. So he could run around naked in Times Square smoking a joint and screaming about the aliens and it wouldn’t matter at this point.