Newt wants to be like Ike

Yesterday, Newt Gingrich was asked about US Libya policy at the National Press Club in D.C. QUESTION: "What would have been the steps you would have taken early on?" GINGRICH: "I would have studied Eisenhower and Reagan and studied the things they did. I mean there are lots of -- there are lots of ways to not necessarily use American troops and have an enormous impact on a country the size of Libya." QUESTION: "Can you list one or two?" GINGRICH: "Take -- take a look at Eisenhower and Reagan." Yep, that's the best Newt could do. Scary, isn't it? I admire Ike, particularly his brilliant WWII leadership. But his performance on the world stage as president is another matter. Slate's David Greenberg summed it up nicely: "Eisenhower's foreign policy was marked by the brave new world of CIA-led coups and assassinations." (See the deposed leaders of Iran, Guatemala and Congo). Ike also planned the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba. As for Reagan, think Lebanon (he lost 220 Marines in the 1983 bombing, then retreated) and the Iran-Contra scandal. Methinks Newt (whose knowledge of history is a mile wide and an inch deep) needs some new foreign policy icons to emulate.