Sebelius thinks that our foreign policy is focused on killing people

Living up to her reputation for spending less time in the state of Kansas than any former governor in history, Kathleen Sebelius spent last weekend crisscrossing North Carolina in campaign mode for Barack Obama, seeking to increase her name ID in her hope to get the VP slot or a cabinet position with Obama. At a campaign stop in North Carolina, Sebelius asserted that Obama "will talk to people before we shoot at them, and that's a pretty good idea."

Now, Sebelius has made a lot of stupid gaffes during her time in office (such as saying that Missouri roads terrified her more than the 9/11 attacks and telling Seattle fundraisers to stay away from Kansas wine), but this is not just a gaffe--it is incredibly insulting and demeans our country. Whatever your thoughts on the Iraq war (I happen to believe it was horribly mismanaged by the Bush administration), we freed a nation of 27 million people from the brutal oppression of Saddam Hussein. And during the last 8 years, we have proceeded to attempt to create free, democratic societies in Afghanistan and Iraq. I don’t think our foreign policy over the last 8 years, despite its flaws and inconsistencies, is predicated on just indiscriminately killing people.

Sebelius’ outrageous statements warrant an apology. One would expect more restraint and reason from a public official who has her eyes on higher office. Let’s see if the Kansas press picks this up or just glosses over this blatant mischaracterization of our foreign policy. Even though our press may ignore it, the Arab press and the Arab street will gladly use the governor’s words as a tool to recruit terrorists and further anti-Americanism in the Middle East.