In a speech in Oregon last night, Barack Obama continued to display his lack of sophistication regarding world affairs. “Iran may spend 1/100th of what we spend on the military,” observed the long time community organizer. “If Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Gosh. Golly. I’m nearly speechless, so it’s a good thing I’m able to type my response.

Can it be that the presumptive Democratic nominee missed all that talk about asymmetrical forces and the threats they pose earlier in the decade? If so, perhaps he still noticed 9/11. Al Qaeda spent a lot less than “1/100th of what we spend” on what could be called military operations, and yet most people concluded after the World Trade Center Towers crumbled that even with a relatively lean budget, Al Qaeda did in fact pose a “serious threat” to us.

Also, when Obama says “they wouldn’t stand a chance,” what exactly is he talking about? Surely a man of his intelligence and geopolitical savvy realizes that Iran will not line up its military to battle our military in a mano-a-mano duel. Could the candidate possibly be implying that an Obama administration would meet an Iranian attack on American interests with savage ruthlessness? If so, the Iranians better enjoy their final months of calmly plotting to kill Americans in Iraq, because President Obama obviously won’t tolerate such actions.

I urge you to listen to the whole clip. Unlike last weekend, Obama is once again back to extolling the benefits of talking to our adversaries. His point is that we spoke to the Soviet Union, and with their 10,000 nuclear warheads they posed a more serious menace to us than Iran does. My question: Is this not a remarkably simplistic analysis for a man who supposedly possesses a legendarily supple mind such as Obama’s?