Note to GOP: Steer clear of UK

Most recently, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker visited Chatham Housea gorgeous foreign policy study center in Westminster. There he was asked if he believed in evolution or not. Why, I cannot fathom. Either way, Walker refused to answer, which probably seemed like a clever thing to do in the heat of the moment.

But while an equivocation that might simply sound awkward in America, it sounded off-the-wall crazy in London. Why? Because for us it is like being casually asked “Does two plus two equal four?” and replying, “I’d rather not answer a hypothetical question.” One doesn’t dodge an invitation to assert fact in the UK. Scott dodged, and because the audience laughed gently at him in English accents, it made him look all the more like a country bumpkin.

American politicians have to stop doing this. Go to Israel instead: there the applause lines are well scripted and all the audience expects to see you do is pray with moist eyes. In contrast, England is somewhere that American political careers go to end. We’re too judgmental, too passive aggressive, too weird. Even we don’t like ourselves — so I’ve no idea why Americans fly here seeking a warm welcome.

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