Fiorina Trumps Trump

“Some of this you can read about in a briefing book, but there’s one level of understanding that you get when you read something. There’s another level of understanding that you get when you’re sitting in the back of a car and a driver gives you a map and Israel is literally wiped off the face of the map. That’s a whole different level of understanding, and I think that’s the kind of leadership we need in the White House, honestly.” ~ Carly Fiorina

The above came from an interview conducted with Fiorina by radio host Hugh Hewitt in an attempt to discern if the questions he asks his guests — and this matters as he’s set to co-moderate the GOP debate this month — are “gotcha” questions as previous guest Donald Trump alleged.

To back up: Hewitt took the opportunity in an interview that aired almost literally right before the Fiorina segment, to quiz current GOP favorite Donald Trump on his knowledge of the Middle East. Specifically, Hewitt asked Trump about names, terrorist group affiliations, which country might be sponsoring those activities, etc. Trump, as you may imagine, bumbled his way through it, fell short on facts (but shone brightly when it came to covering his butt by saying, essentially, “Oh I have a plan, but I can’t tell you about it because that kind of unpredictability is part of my charm!” Sigh.), and then did what he does best: threw a tantrum and insulted Hewitt.

Responding to a question about his views on the Iran deal and the country’s elite Quds Force from The Washington Post’s David Ignatius on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Trump took the opportunity to take a shot at the California-based radio personality who will, incidentally, be asking questions at the next GOP debate on Sept. 16.

“And by the way, when you say Quds vs. Kurds, I thought he said Kurds, this third-rate radio announcer that I did the show [for]. It was like ‘gotcha, gotcha.’ Every question was, do I know this one and that one. You know, he worked hard on that. I thought he said Kurds,” Trump said. “By the way, I do think the Kurds, while we’re on it, I do think the Kurds are not being utilized properly and not being treated properly by us.”

There’s really not much to say about all this except that everyone should absolutely listen to both audio files and then be honest with themselves about which of those two people is in control of their own faculties enough to do their homework, and which has the resources and the wherewithal to do the job.

Let me add: Fiorina may not be your cup of tea. But she’s a damn sight closer to what we should be looking for than the sideshow that is Donald Trump.