The question came towards the end of last night's debate, and Republicans were no doubt thrilled. After an event featuring questions Democrats enjoyed -- equal pay for women, outsourcing, Bush comparisons -- an undecided voter finally brought up an issue the right has been desperate to talk about: the attack in Benghazi that left four Americans dead.
But after weeks of teeing this up as a devastating issue for President Obama, Mitt Romney blew it. It was, as Rachel noted last night, a "political disaster" for the Republican.
As the moment unfolded live, it was obvious Romney thought he'd finally found a brutal new criticism. The Republican began by accusing the president on Sept. 12 of flying "to Las Vegas for a political fundraiser" -- that wasn't true; there was no such fundraiser -- instead of addressing the attack. Obama responded, "The day after the attack, Governor, I stood in the Rose Garden, and I told the American people and the world that we are going to find out exactly what happened, that this was an act of terror."
Romney hadn't done his homework, and didn't realize that the president was telling the truth. He thought he'd tripped Obama up, but even moderator Candy Crowley felt compelled to fact-check Romney in real time: "He did call it an 'act of terror.'"
The president added, "Can you say that a little louder, Candy?" The moment that Romney expected to be triumphant had backfired -- and the crowd of undecided voters ended up applauding Obama.
"[T]he Romney camp laid the trap," Josh Marshall noted. "And tonight Mitt walked right into it."
The New York Times' Andrew Rosenthal compared it to another major foreign-policy debate failure.
When Gerald Ford denied in 1976 that there was any "Soviet domination" of Eastern Europe, he cemented the impression that he was out of touch with pretty much everything. Tonight, Mitt Romney may have had a similar moment, during a back-and-forth about the attack on the Benghazi Consulate. Mr. Romney clearly thought he had a big opening and he moved in for the kill when Mr. Obama said he had called the attack a terrorist act the very next day, in a Rose Garden speech. [...]
Whoever coached Mr. Romney on that question did the candidate no favors.... The exchange left voters in the uncomfortable position of assuming that Mr. Romney either believes his own propaganda or doesn't care whether what he says is true, which fits into the narrative that he's willing to twist the truth for political gain.
One other thought: last night featured plenty of emotional highs and lows, but Romney's criticism of Benghazi on political grounds seemed to offend the president on a personal level. Take a look at Obama's face during his response:
Romney tried to exploit the deaths of Americans for partisan gain the night of Sept. 11, and then he tried to do it again in last night's debate. The president, displaying more passion than we're accustomed to seeing, was determined to make the Republican pay a price for this, and he did. Romney ended up looking small, with even less credibility on foreign policy than he did before.
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Why do i feel the nixon era coming, if romney becomes a president? we could probably have a lot of fights in our hands to get him resign if that so happens. that man think he is a god. in mormon, that is a wrong way to go and it a cult thing like, so he try get us to follow his path.
I live in a small country on the other side of the world but still seem to know more about America than most Republicans on here. Obviously whoever is in power in the US does have a knock on effect worldwide so I like to abreast of the situation. But still, only weeks away fro mthe election and Republicans continue to spout nonsense lies that can be fact checked in a few seconds.
President Obama has incrased the deficit...WRONG
President Obama has increased unemployment......WRONG
Please all Republicans, turn to a channel other than Fox, pick up a newspaper or read a book other than the Bible and educate yourselves. You look like complete idiots to the world and I for one am terrified of your woefully inept candidate getting into office.
Thank you Steffan. You're a breath of fresh air.
Steffan...,
You have excellent reason to be worried. If Romney and his crowd gain control of the US, it will be the 1930s all over again, mark my words.
If we could have FDR all over again, I wouldn't kvetch. But with Romney, I'd expect war with Iran before the next midterms at the latest. Will Iran be Poland, the act of aggression that breaks the patience of the rest of the world?
If you watch the Rachael Maddow's show last night could you please fill in the blank.....
" Do whatever you need to do to make yourself feel better but do not confuse your _______________daily calibre therapeutic conservative alternative fancy babble for what actually happen because stuff really does actually happen and eventually you really do have to deal with it." Im trying to quote Rachael here. I love this statement, the speed in which she said it left me in awe...it was faster than the speed of light :)
I'm in Mexico. I always gat MSNBCet Rachel's broadcast
But the last two or theee days I'm either too early or too late.
WHY ISN"T YESTERDAY's SHOW STILL AVAILABLE AT THE BLOG - MSNVC + RACHEL.
Very irritating and upsetting.
JBryllars@Gmail.com
@ Bryllars...send an email to maddowfans@gmail.com and ask for the link and they'll send it to you.
I'm really disappointed in Romney that has such bad advisers. If he himself had listened to the speech the President gave in the Rose Garden the day following the 9/11/2012 Benghazi attack, as I did, he would have known before the 2nd Presidential debate what the President actually said: "Of course yesterday was already a painful day for our nation as we mark the solemn memory of the 9/11 attacks... And then last night we learned the news of this attack in Benghazi... No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America. We will not waiver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act, and make no mistake, justice WILL be done." Instead Romney said he found it troubling that the President flew out to a political fundraiser in Vegas that day. Romney is apparently unaware of multitasking on a Presidential level and had no idea that the President had given the speech in the Rose Garden that morning before flying out to Vegas to give a campaign speech to a crowd of 8,000 at the Cashman Center that evening, where the first thing he did was honor the four who were killed, assured the crowd he will bring their killers to justice and said, "We want to send a message all around the world to anybody who would do us harm, no acts of terror will dim the light of the values that we proudly shine on the rest of the world and no act of violence will shake the resolve of the United States of America." Romney even broke the debate rules and directly asked the president, "You said, in the Rose Garden, the day after the attack, it was an act of terror? It was not a spontaneous demonstration? Is that what you're saying?" Clearly he was unaware that nowhere in his speech in the Rose Garden that morning nor in his campaign speech in Vegas that evening did the President refer to the Benghazi attack as a "spontaneous demonstration." Not only did the President call the Benghazi attack an act of terror, he assured that we, as a nation, will hunt down those who committed the crime. Romney and his advisers must have been confused because the violent demonstrations that began in Cairo against the 'Innocence of Muslims' video and the attack in Benghazi happened on the same day. And as the protests spread across the Arab world in the following days and weeks, the President spoke about both events as he made appearances on television and in stump speeches across America. Obviously by the 3rd Presidential debate, Romney had become more informed about current events and what the President actually said, because Romney didn't bring the subject up at all in the 3rd Presidential debate, which was on Foreign Policy. He really got his clock cleaned in the 2nd debate and I just think it's a real shame that he has such poor advisers who made him look so bad in front of millions of television viewers.
They are all just trying to flim flam the electorate. Too bad, they are inept when it comes to defining themselves and even worse, the people that fall for their flip flopping, shape shifting and complete lack of any core.
The very worst thing it the R party just wants any person with an R after their name that will sign whatever they put in front of them. The Ryan budget. Deregulation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wYYX0mZsQA
That is pitiful, given the foreign policies are extremely important and Colin Powell has endorsed President Obama again. Saying, Rmoney's foreign policy is a moving target.
http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/25/14694430-obama-powell-endorses-obama-again?lite
Wow....this is so very tired.....why does it still show up on the blog???