More Rhetoric than Substance is a characteristic of Nationalist/Right-Wing ideology simply because the realties of the world we live in today do NOT allow for solutions that may have applied decades ago. Concepts like Globalization, Free Trade/Trade Blocs, Multiculturalism as well as the interconnectivity/interdependence of the world we live in today requires solutions that rely on these elements and NOT challenge them. Even when considering military power and security, these also have to be tempered with realities/constraints where international dependencies are key because threats of today have no boundaries. He just needs to start playing U ball.
The reality is that Nationalism/Protectionism are in effect a call for Isolationism in an Interconnected/Interdependent/Multicultural environment of today. So soundbites may sound good but eventually people will realize there is nothing really in there to bite.