Bill Kristol: 'Obama Has Created Rand Paul'

Transcript via Real Clear Politics:

BILL KRISTOL: I very much agree with you. We cannot sustain a serious foreign policy abroad without public debate and without a president who leads. And that’s been the biggest problem; hawks like me, who want to support some of the things that Obama has done, he’s never defended them. He doesn’t explain them. He doesn’t put them in context. As a result, there is more support for a Rand Paul-type view. I think its mistaken, but I understand why people go in that direction when President Obama what the consequences of getting out of Afghanistan would be, where he never explains why we need to spend some serious money on defense and national security.

So, in that respect, President Obama, in a way, has created Rand Paul, or the opportunity for Rand Paul, and I have nothing personal against Rand Paul, he gave a good speech it sounds like today on immigration, where he’s going to be more forward-leaning than a lot of his supporters in terms of immigration and a path to citizenship for Hispanics. So, again, I think this is all pretty helpful for the party and for the conservative movement, but we also have a president these next four years who we’re going to have to do our best to prevent real disasters from happening on his watch.