Fred Thompson:
~snip~
I think its time for a little plain talk to the leaders of Mexico. Something like:
hey guys, youre our friends and neighbors and we love you but its time you had a little dose of reality. A sovereign nation loses that status if it cannot secure its own borders and we are going to do whatever is necessary to do so, although our policies wont be as harsh as yours are along your southern border. And criticizing the U.S. for alternately doing too much and too little to stop your illegal activities is not going to set too well with Americans of good will who are trying to figure a way out of the mess that your and our open borders policy has already created.
My friends, its also time for a little introspection. Since we all agree that improving Mexicos economy will help with the illegal-immigration problem, you might want to consider your own left-of -center policies. For example, nationalized industries are not known for enhancing economic growth. Just a thought. But heres something even more to the point that you might want to think about: What does it say about the leadership of a country when that countrys economy and politics are dependent upon the exportation of its own citizens?
~snip~
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NjhkYzZiNTAxZjAyZTNjNzkxNjA2ZTNmNDBhNjhlYWU=
Sounds OK by me!
On the free trade issue, he recognizes (correctly) that China and the US are mutually dependent on one another economically, for better or for worse.
He also acknowledges (correctly) that while the above is true, we still must remember that China has weapons pointed at Taiwan, I don't know of ANY other candidate who has made that point, except perhaps Hunter.