Mitt Romney's handling of the deadly unrest in the Middle East caused considerable criticism last week, but the story isn't quite over yet.
On Friday, Richard Williamson, a top Romney foreign policy adviser, insisted that anti-American protests wouldn't happen in the Middle East and North Africa if Romney were president -- because Muslim demonstrators would have too much "respect" for "American resolve." This morning, the Obama campaign called the comments "absolutely outrageous."
I'm hard pressed to disagree. Indeed, though Romney's scurrilous remarks last week generated something of a firestorm, it's arguably premature to say the damage has been done and it's time to move on. Nick Kristof's column over the weekend was brutal: "Diplomacy is a minefield, and Mitt Romney spent the last week blowing up his foreign policy credentials to be president. He raised doubts about his capacity to deal with global crises, and we were left hoping that if that 3 a.m. call ever went to him, he'd have set up call forwarding. The essential problem is that every time Romney touches foreign policy, he breaks things."
Ouch.
John Heilemann had a worthwhile piece of his own.
Here was America under attack, with four dead on foreign soil. And here was Romney, defiantly refusing to adopt a tone of sobriety, solemnity, or seriousness, instead attempting to score cheap political points, doubling down on his criticism from the night before that the Obama administration had been "disgraceful" for "sympathiz[ing]" with the attackers -- criticism willfully ignoring the chronology of events, the source of the statement he was pillorying, the substance of the statement, and the circumstances under which it was made. [...]
"This is worse than a Lehman moment," says a senior GOP operative. "McCain made mistakes of impulsiveness, but this was a deliberate and premeditated move, and it totally revealed Romney's character; it revealed him as completely craven and his candidacy as serving no higher purpose than his ambition."
And that's exactly why I continue to believe last week was so critically important. Romney has faced various tests of campaign competence and message coherence, just as he's been confronted with important questions about his judgment or foreign policy acumen. But as a lengthy campaign nears its completion, this was the nation's most obvious opportunity to see whether Romney -- the man, not the candidate -- can respond with grace when a crisis hits.
It was a test to determine what kind of person he is, and "it revealed him as completely craven and his candidacy as serving no higher purpose than his ambition."
Candidates and campaigns have strategies to bounce back from various gaffes and missteps, but this was something else altogether, and recovery may not be a realistic option.
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Willard has always been craven.
those just noticing haven't been paying attention.
What the Romney campaign seems to want people to believe is that all we have to do is to be tougher on Muslims or Islamic nations and they won't attack us or our interests. What exactly is the theory behind this? Does he think that he can scare them into not attacking us? I see how well that worked on 9/11.
A policy of communications and engagement seems to me to be more likely to have beneficial results as opposed to one of aggression. Maybe if they didn't have reason to believe that the US was out to destroy their country or religion they would be a little slower to attack. Part of the problem is the misinformation that they have about the way free speech works in the US, but another part of the problem is the number of times that the US is only visible to them in terms of military action.
Peter King on Meet the Press didn't help his republican mates. He said when describing Obama's presidency... "There has never been a post 9-11 administration that acted this way". Gee out of all those other post 9-11 administrations Obama's is the worst.
A little truth never hurt anybody!
" the Obama administration had been "disgraceful" for "sympathiz[ing]" with the attackers"
This is from a TV ad for Mitt's latest business venture- Romney Cab Company: "Driving Bigots to the Polls."
Day , did you see Tom tomorrow today ? priceless
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/17/1130957/-The-campaigner?detail=hide
The main question for me being--are the Republican VOTERS taking notice? I don't mean the tea baggers. They're beyond reason, but the Republicans who are sane. They exist, you know, hard as it is to believe.
The mainstream moderate Republicans are going to take notice. That will mean some may vote for Obama and other may not vote in the presidential race. I think a better question is whether this is likely to cause some Republican voters to stay home on election day. The second question is what does the mainstream Republican party do with its nominee. Less campaign contributions? That is most likely to happen after the first debate if Romney gets walloped or public opinion is negative. But I would suspect that campaign contributions have already slowed. After the first debate, we may have a better grasp on both questions. Finally, there is the problem with people in the party who would prefer Romney lose. There are some that want a more mainstream candidate like Jeb Bush in 2016 while others want a more Tea Party like candidate.
There is a huge parallel to exploit here.
The GOP also had their 3AM moment on the national emergency on Jobs and did the same with that Romney did with his 3AM call: That is, instead of the crisis drawing Americans together with congressional leaders putting aside their partisan differences, they blocked any compromise at taking action, instead using it as an opportunity to score for cheap political points on issues with nothing to do with the Jobs crisis.
The independent PACS need to chain local candidates to Romney and as he sinks underwater, so will the GOP congressional candidates.
Dems need to go for the jugular with a Lawrence of Arabia: "No prisoners" attitude.
The PACs and the Dem National Party can link the Republicans to Romney and the Tea Party. It should should be done on a local and national basis. The more that voters perceive the Republicans and Romney as radicals, the worse their opinion polls will become, particularly with independents. And in some congressional districts, it will be golden, i.e. Joe Walsh. Republicans in moderate districts will be running away from Romney and the party when poll numbers go down. The more extensive the national campaign, the better for Dems in close races like the North Dakota Senate race.
I don't know how many of you read much conservative press, but criticism of Romney is growing more widespread. Suddenly, everyone is realizing that he's a bad candidate, a bad campaigner, and might be a bad president.
As if we (rank and file republicans) didn't see this coming. Lest we forget the primaries, while he might have been the "least objectionable," he was never the most qualified. Combined with the primary gaffs, pandering to ultra-right-wing, religious, and libertarians, it was clear from the beginning that he wouldn't be a good general election candidate.
In some ways, this was his election to lose, and it looks like he's going to.
You have to remember too, Romney's earlier bungling of the 3am call of inserting himself into foreign policy and diplomacy -- 'stepping in it' , firing first and aiming later, when he blasted Obama and the Administration for the handling of the Chinese blind dissident.
In late April or early May, Romney jumped in with both feet when Hillary was in the midst of heightened negotiations with China -- without having the facts - like that's a surprise.
So why would we be surprised at his actions of last week. He's been on full display as being hot headed, etc. No ability to stop, get facts, analyze. He opens mouth, inserts both feet before he engages his brain. OOPS -- you'd have to have a brain to engage it!!
When people are talking about Romney's failing in this area, it's unfortunate that this one has fallen off the radar considering it wasn't that long ago -- about 4 months.
One wants his/her governing people to be grownups with a thoughtful, mature mindset. It is the only way that reasonable results will obtain when the situation becomes somewhat critical. Willard isn't the only repub in Washington to fail this test, but he is one of the most prominent in that he is aiming to be president. For that reason alone, although there are many others, he has failed completely to show that he is ready to be the "leader" of the free world.
I considered the Shrub to be a child in man's clothing, but Willard is at least his equal if not worse. Bush at least has the excuse that he didn't have a clue as to what he was doing. Willard has been involved in the real world and must know better. But he doesn't even pretend to be a grownup.
Agreed, except that in Willard's "real world," he has gotten everything he's ever wanted because he comes from money. So I don't think he really knows better. He wants to be President, and he's going to kick and scream and hold his breath in the middle of the grocery store until he gets his way. What he doesn't understand is that mummy and pops don't get to decide this for him. Sure, he's getting a ton of support from the money men, but they're not in it because they support HIM; they're in it because they expect favors from him.
The thing they have in common is that they both clearly wanted to be president, not to do the job of president. We saw how that worked out with Bush; we don't need to try it again.
It's not about you, Mitt, it's about us. Unless you get that, you're not qualified.
I disagree that this election was O's to lose; he would have killed Santorum or Newt, and everyone knows it.
If he can't hold it down and give it a haircut, he is lost. I heard he is getting breast implants to give his low-information followers a couple more things to think about.
Implants or not, he's still an empty suit.
And now Romney wants to "reinvent" himself and go on a Reinvention Tour to launch into a new campaign strategy of telling us that: People are wanting specifics! They're wanting detail! And... and we're going to give it to 'em! Maybe even tomorrow, or even better, perhaps the next day! No wait, we'll package all the details with my one year tax return reveal, yeah, THAT'S what the people are clamoring for! It'll be my October SURPRISE...no better yet, it'll be my NOVEMBER surprise!!! Yeah, that's the ticket!!!
Well, he would reinvent himself, but unfortunately Mitt 3.2 is behind schedule and won't be released until January. But they really need the features, so they keep pushing out these buggy beta versions, with predictable results.
Hmmmph! With all he's said and done, the only way Romney could "reinvent" himself is if he suddenly started telling the truth!
I agree 100%.
Romney's unfitness for office was evident to me from the moment he published that astonishing idiotic pile of rubbish about New START in in the Wapo in 2010.
I said at the time I read it, "My God, the man's just a patrician Palin with a penis and complete sentences." Every foreign policy and national security pronouncement he's made since then has only reinforced that belief.
Here's the definitive takedown of it:
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2010/07/wrongheaded_romney.2.html
He, like Palin, failed to educate himself about politics, about foreign policy, about the world. They both had sufficient time but were totally uninterested. It's below them to have to 'put themselves out'.
The only difference between them - Romney came from money and got an education. She didn't as I don't truly believe she finished college as no one has ever confirmed it considering she went to what -- 5 colleges?
My Etch-A-Sketch broke. Can only 'remake' Mitt so many times in 1 election cycle! We just didn't have the 'etch-a-sketch' reference for Palin but it too can be applied as we watched for 4 years.
At least sister sarah had better jokes.......
No, No....Fred Williamson's right; 17/20 foreign policy advisors for Mitt were in GW's cabinet and I don't ever remember protests in the Middle East during his administration......./sarcasm
I still laugh at the shoe being thrown at Bush!!
Yeah, me too. But I am not laughing about the shoes and rotten fruit being thrown at Hillary Clinton because of a viscious rumor started by Michelle Bachman and her ilk that claimed Hillary rigged the Egyptian election in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood.
On a more serious note, Mitt as the on-switch for the neocons is beginning to scare the hell out of me.
this may sound small minded, but i blew the s.o.b. off a long time ago. his 30 months of bicyling across france while his contemporaries bled and died fighting the communist menace he's spent a lifetime condemning told me all i wanted to know about him. look, i know that even sgt. york and audie murphy didn't spend every waking minute being hero's, but what romney and his republican ilk have done is beneath contemptible. bill clinton may have dodged the draft, but he was honorable enough not to spend his post service age years pretending to be a tough, commie hating, rambo. i can stomach cowardice; hypocrisy is something else.
The REAL Mitt Romney
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/17/mitt-romney-video_n_1829455.html
The international gaffes should expected not respected. Read Tapii's article about Bain and how Romney threatened to bankrupt the company by paying out executive bonuses,which he did,then with taxpayer money paid off the debts he created but he won't tell tax payers about his taxes. People,people, this is not the character of a man who should be a leader of anything let alone one of the best nations in the world. His policies will not create jobs but you will be going back to war if you elect this bozo.
In addition, during the last week while mobs are becoming more destructive, and there was an attempted hostile takeover of the British military base where two men were killed fighting side by side with American troops, Romney spoke in a video at the Voter Values Conference. The same conference where Ryan practically threatened attack on Iran, an ex-terrorist blathered on to cheers and applause, and Michelle Bachman accused Obama of having a secret Muslim agenda. This goes far beyond a double down.
Today, Romney states he will strengthen trade regulations against Americans outsourcing to China where his own interests keep a slave labor force of Chinese women locked in dormitories behind barbed wire.
The cowardice and hypocrisy of this campaign "jumps the pail". Ryan quote.
If you thought Cheney was secretive -- we've had the chance before the election to see Romney. In the secretive depeartment -- he's Cheney on steroids.
The destruction of his Governor records and equipment is clear indication. Past behaviour is an indicator of future behaviour.
I looked at that picture and just figured out what it was about the disconcerting expressions at that press conference. That's the expression of a man who's realizing for the very first time that he's not just big enough for the job he's been pursuing with single minded devotion for the last decade.
You can almost hear Willard muttering under his breath, "bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, Iran!" And I'll throw another bomb in their for good measure......
Yes, Gumby is still flapping his gums and his friendly horse Pokey is refusing to compete in the Olympics, due to the last scene they had about the horse trailer, ( no windows). At least that was the last story I heard. He probably flip-flopped already. Either he goes and sees a psychiatrist or we all will have to, by the time this election is over.
I really like how you lefties feed off of other lefties and stretch any democratic party propaganda to the limit of being assinine. The dnc has a slogan of "forward" and msnbc has a header of " lean forward" on the tv shows(maybe a little bias here?). And how you folks always post links the the HuffPost, a real non-partisan organization. One poster above mentioned the movien Lawrence of Arabia , just watch the last 20 minutes of that movie and compare that to recent events - see any differences ? Basically there are none. If a 15 min obscure video provoked the current violence can you imagine what the full hollywood movie production(blessed by the WH) on the killing OBL will bring ? The dept of state, the WH, the CIA, can't even agree on whether or not the embassy/consulate attacks were premeditated and preplanned. Can't wait to see how you lefties will handle that.
Quick - Your Cracker Jacks Box grammar school graduation certificate just fell off your wall. Can't have that as that's the only proof of your 'edumication'
what-ever,
You appear lost. The fox news site is that way >>>>>>>>>>>
We're happy that you like us lefties, a lot of Republicans have made the switch. One of our goals is to unite everyone, United we stand United we fall and if our backs should ever be against the wall, we'll be together you and I. Welcome aboard!
Hahahahaha... So rich. MSNBC and the Democratic party. Yet more epistemic closure from the hermetically sealed wingnut alternate reality.
"Fox Really Is An Arm Of The Romney Campaign"
New evidence suggests that Shawn Berry, Lawrence Brewer, and John King dragged James Byrd behind a pick-up truck along an asphalt road in a heroic, yet ultimately futile, effort to get Mr. Byrd to the hospital.