Jacob Heilbrunn is deeply concerned that "bellicosity about China has become fashionable among Republicans":
[A] Republican president who actually followed the prescriptions being enunicated during the primaries would wreak havoc in foreign affairs. The truculence of the candidates, apart from Ron Paul, suggests that they have learned little or nothing from the Bush era. It's a testament to hubris or obduracy, or perhaps both at the very same time. Whether a new sobriety would prevail once a Republican candidate was actually in office is another matter. It's hard to believe that Romney, for one, actually believes what he is saying. But there is no gainsaying the fact that bashing China is acquiring a new and unfortunate respectability among Republicans.
What's staggering to me is that after the disasters in Iraq and Afghanistan, the GOP, while never mentioning anyone with the name Bush, remains, with the exception of Paul and Huntsman, even more gung-ho about military interventionism and a new Cold War with China than ever.
The Dish 