Gary Johnson: "What is Aleppo?"

[RonPaulFanInGA]

https://twitter.com/Morning_Joe/stat...51435477762048

@mikebarnicle: What would you do, if you were elected, about Aleppo?
@GovGaryJohnson: And what is Aleppo?

Gary Johnson just made a fool of himself on Morning Joe, and it's already the top trend on Twitter.

Edit, NBC article: http://www.nbcnews.com/card/gary-joh...aleppo-n644731

[undergroundrr]

Ouch. Could be his Glenn Beck/Debra Medina moment.

[presence]

interviewer caught him out of context without introducing the topic. What is a lepo? wut?


Low Exercise Price Option ???


want a real gaffe?

ask clinton or trump what they think about von Mises

[undergroundrr]

I haven't watched it. Did he actually give a cogent answer after clarification? Or did they just sit there and go "Dude, you don't know what Aleppo is? What a dolt."

This is perfect timing for a smear campaign. He could be right on the cusp of a breakthrough if he doesn't get hamstrung.

[Jesse James]

I haven't watched it. Did he actually give a cogent answer after clarification? Or did they just sit there and go "Dude, you don't know what Aleppo is? What a dolt."

This is perfect timing for a smear campaign. He could be right on the cusp of a breakthrough if he doesn't get hamstrung.

they said "really?" and then explained it.. somewhat

[specsaregood]

Did he actually give a cogent answer after clarification?

He gave some hippy love non answer, answer.

"OK, got it, got it," Johnson said, cutting him off. He added: "With regard to Syria I do think it's a mess. mess. I think that the only way that we deal with Syria is to join hands with Russia to diplomatically bring that at an end."

"It's just a mess," he said.

[undergroundrr]

He gave some hippy love non answer, answer.

Not sure what that has to do with hippy love. What he didn't say is "send troops." It belies the idea that he's anxious to get into humanitarian wars.

[RJ Liberty]

I'm not sure why it matters that he didn't know the name of a city in Syria. I didn't know the name, either, and I'm a geography buff.

[CaptUSA]

interviewer caught him out of context without introducing the topic. What is a leppo? wut?

Yeah, a tube would be helpful. It could be as simple as a train of thought change and a miscommunication between interviewer and interviewee.

But I wouldn't be surprised either way. Johnson likes to use big thick crayons - every time he tries to use anything more detailed, he stumbles all over himself.

[juleswin]

I'm not sure why it matters that he didn't know the name of a city in Syria. I didn't know the name, either, and I'm a geography buff.

This, its not like he didn't know what Syria is, its a freaking city in a country that we have no business interfering in. Anybody who thinks this is a deficiency is someone who has already made up his/her mind on not voting for him.

[euphemia]

Was he sober during the interview?

[Nils Dacke]

I haven't watched it. Did he actually give a cogent answer after clarification? Or did they just sit there and go "Dude, you don't know what Aleppo is? What a dolt."

This is perfect timing for a smear campaign. He could be right on the cusp of a breakthrough if he doesn't get hamstrung.

Maybe a transcript could be of use to the thread anyway if the link goes dead or old, here's what they said:

Mike Barnacle: What would you do, if you were elected, about Aleppo? [Pronouncing it with heavy emphasis on the initial A, almost like he was saying "a leppo". Is that a common way to pronounce it in some accents of American English?]
Johnson: About?
Barnacle: Aleppo.
Johnson: And what is Aleppo?
Barnacle: You're kidding?
Johnson: No.
Barnacle: Aleppo is in Syria, it's the epicenter of the refugee crisis ...
Johnson (interrupting): Ok. Got it. Got it. Well, with regard to Syria I do think that it's a mess, I think that the only way that we deal with Syria is to join hands with Russia to diplomatically bring that to an end. But when we've aligned ourselves with.. when we've supported the opposition, the Free Syrian Army is also coupled with the islamists, and then the fact that we are also supporting the kurds, and... This is just a mess. This is the result of regime change, that we end up supporting, and inevitable these regime changes has led to a less safe world.

***

I don't think this would've been as much of a gaffe if Johnson had a bit more charisma. With his body language often signaling "I'm a bit goofy and lost", in a situation like this it's just devastating. The way he says "Ok, got it. Got it" sound more to me like an "Oh, okay, I just learnt something" than a "Right, ofcourse I know what Aleppo is, I just blanked out / misheard / whatever for a second." If he'd been a bit more aplomb, I think he could've saved the situation just fine. It's sad how mere personality plays such crucial role in politics, even though I'm no ardent supporter of Johnson this just isn't the way a campaign should have to go down - or atleast take a somewhat substantial blow at a far from perfect time.

[wizardwatson]

Barnacle: Aleppo is in Syria, it's the epicenter of the refugee crisis ...

Wonder if they are nailed down on these talking points. Syria War is "the epicenter of the refugee crisis".

Why is the crisis the refugees and not the war? People are being blown up and shot and killed. The war is the crisis. Refugees are a collateral problem.

Anyway, expected I guess.

Just weird that he insinuates that Aleppo is the center of refugee crisis and not center of the war.

[juleswin]

There are already two stories on this on yahoo.com first page and both articles used a goofy pic of Gary Johnson on it. This smells like a hit job to me.

[undergroundrr]

Yeah, the "You're kidding?" sounds like an expression of condescension. Maybe the interviewer was out for blood.

The MSM has latched onto this hard. That's all that matters at this point.

WaPo - "It would be easy to describe Gary Johnson's appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Thursday as having doomed his third-party candidacy for president were it not for the fact that his candidacy was already doomed."
NYT "...could rock his insurgent candidacy when he could not answer a basic question about the crisis in Aleppo, Syria."
Slate "very good for a third-party candidate. That may change after an interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe today in which Johnson earnestly admits to have no idea what the city of Aleppo, Syria is."
Time - "The presidential candidate revealed his unfamiliarity with the city... Soon after, #WhatisAleppo began trending on Twitter "
CBS, US News, Fox, Washington Times, LA Times, RCP, ABC News, Daily Beast, etc. etc. etc.

It's odd that a third party candidate's gaffe makes the front pages of Yahoo News and Google News.

I suppose some here would say, "If the MSM has it out for this guy so bad, he must be doing something right."

Politico has the most balanced article -

Johnson's campaign released a formal statement later Thursday morning where the Libertarian nominee said he "blanked."
"Yes, I understand the dynamics of the Syrian conflict — I talk about them every day. But hit with “What about Aleppo?”, I immediately was thinking about an acronym, not the Syrian conflict. I blanked. It happens, and it will happen again during the course of this campaign," Johnson said in the statement. "Can I name every city in Syria? No. Should I have identified Aleppo? Yes. Do I understand its significance? Yes."

[euphemia]

I'm not sure why it matters that he didn't know the name of a city in Syria. I didn't know the name, either, and I'm a geography buff.

It matters because Johnson is a candidate for President of the United States being interviewed as such. The context of the interview says he needs to be up to speed on geography and current events. He only has about 20 seconds to convince people he is worthy of the job.

[Chieppa1]

In Joe's defense, he is used to interviewing Ron Paul when it comes to the libertarian viewpoint. What a $#@!ing idiot.

[RJ Liberty]

It matters because Johnson is a candidate for President of the United States being interviewed as such. The context of the interview says he needs to be up to speed on geography and current events. He only has about 20 seconds to convince people he is worthy of the job.

We can all agree that the President of the United States should be "up to speed" on geography, but not knowing the name of a city in Syria certainly wouldn't prove someone's not "up to speed" on geography; Aleppo's not the capital of Syria, nor is it the largest city in that country. In point of fact, most Americans can't identify more than a few US states on a map, and certainly don't know where Aleppo is. In terms of your assertion about current events, I've had many political conversations over the past two years, and never once has anyone brought up Aleppo, though we certainly have talked about the wars in the Middle East, including Syria.

A quick search of your posts here indicates you've never mentioned Aleppo. Why is it suddenly so important to you that the POTUS knows all about Aleppo? Nevermind; I already know. You were the one talking about how eloquent and "gracious" Melania Trump's plagiarized speech was. Barf.

[specsaregood]

In terms of your assertion about current events, I've had many political conversations over the past two years, and never once has anyone brought up Aleppo, though we certainly have talked about the wars in the Middle East, including Syria.

A quick search of your posts here indicates you've never mentioned Aleppo. Why is it suddenly so important to you that the POTUS knows all about Aleppo? Nevermind; I already know. You were the one talking about how eloquent and "gracious" Melania Trump's plagiarized speech was. Barf.

And yet Aleppo is mentioned in over 25 different threads here on rpfs just in the past month and 5 of them in the thread title alone. maybe GJ should read rpfs more often.

[euphemia]

Because your candidate doesn't measure up, please don't turn this into an attack on me. I read about Aleppo in the news and I'm not running for anything. A man who is being interviewed as a candidate for President should expect a question about Aleppo and the question of refugees. It is relevant to US domestic and foreign policy because Obama has committed US resources to the issue. In fact, he boasts that he is ahead of the target he set for the numbers to be admitted here.

I don't comment on every single thread here. If it has degenerated into a who sucks more argument or if someone has already made the points I consider important, then I generally don't post. I don't have the luxury to be on the internet all day every day.

[Brian4Liberty]

Gary admits he didn't know the name of the city. It is a gotcha question though. Even if you know something about Aleppo, there was no context. The "interviewer" was obviously prepared to jump on him. The leftists are attacking Johnson as they don't want him taking any votes from comrade Hillary.

[helmuth_hubener]

I also did not know who, what, or where "Aleppo" is or was until this thread.

[Madison320]

Yeah, Johnson is terrible. Vote for Trump instead. He wants to build a giant wall, increase govt spending, keep interest rates low, raise the minimum wage, continue the war on drugs, etc, etc.

[Madison320]

I also did not know who, what, or where "Aleppo" is or was until this thread.

I would've guessed it was a town in Italy.

[silverhandorder]

We can all agree that the President of the United States should be "up to speed" on geography, but not knowing the name of a city in Syria certainly wouldn't prove someone's not "up to speed" on geography; Aleppo's not the capital of Syria, nor is it the largest city in that country. In point of fact, most Americans can't identify more than a few US states on a map, and certainly don't know where Aleppo is. In terms of your assertion about current events, I've had many political conversations over the past two years, and never once has anyone brought up Aleppo, though we certainly have talked about the wars in the Middle East, including Syria.

A quick search of your posts here indicates you've never mentioned Aleppo. Why is it suddenly so important to you that the POTUS knows all about Aleppo? Nevermind; I already know. You were the one talking about how eloquent and "gracious" Melania Trump's plagiarized speech was. Barf.

We will see how it looks after this blows over. It could be that Garry attracts so little support that that won't even show up.

[euphemia]

Gary Johnson is a horrible candidate. He's not a Libertarian. He's not ready for this, and I'm afraid he knows it. Right now, he is where Donald Trump was last summer. Not a clue, a bit bewildered, and no coherent message. Trump has improved his presentation somewhat, if not the message, but I don't see Johnson doing anything to get better. The opportunity was there for Libertarians, and they totally fumbled.

[undergroundrr]

It matters because Johnson is a candidate for President of the United States being interviewed as such. The context of the interview says he needs to be up to speed on geography and current events. He only has about 20 seconds to convince people he is worthy of the job.

Although I don't love the spirit in which it's written, you're absolutely right.

Nazi cakes and all the rest of the things people complain about here have no bearing on electability, but this is a little different.

I don't think he could afford anything that would make people take him less seriously. He's a serious threat (in fact, the only threat) to Hillary and the MSM has shown today that they will hammer him if he gives them an opening. We'll see how resilient he is.

[specsaregood]

Yeah, Johnson is terrible. Vote for Trump instead. He wants to build a giant wall, increase govt spending, keep interest rates low, raise the minimum wage, continue the war on drugs, etc, etc.

That seems to be the mantra for the GJ supporter, a non-vote for Johnson == a vote for trump. nonsense.

[Brian4Liberty]

I was very familiar with Aleppo, yet at the same time, I didn't know the latest day to day details on the fighting there. Who has a plan for Aleppo? Those douchebags on MSNBC have no plan, and they know that no politician has a plan, and if a politician offers a plan, it could be easily ripped apart.

It was a gotcha question, with no good answer. Unfortunately for Gary, it worked out perfectly, probably better than expected, and to their absolute delight.

[euphemia]

Truly, in a television age, sound bytes matter. Johnson has precious little time to grab attention and say something people will remember. Johnson sounds like a lightweight and doesn't seem to be taking his candidacy seriously.

Rand had this same point, but it was more because it takes him so long to get to the point. The first sentence has to be a strong statement with about three bullet points under that.