In his first television ad in the wake of the three debates, President Obama unveiled a minute-long spot, highlighting his first-term accomplishments and noting several second-term goals. It's a positive, issue-focused ad, which mentions his opponent only in passing.
In his first television ad in the wake of the three debates, Mitt Romney is going in a different direction.
For those who can't watch clips online, the 30-second spot is yet another attack ad, accusing Obama of having gone on an "apology tour" and failing to visit Israel in his first term.
In some ways, I suppose it's fitting. Romney, before even launching his 2012 presidential campaign, based much of his national ambitions on the "apology tour" -- it was the basis for the title of his 2007 "memoir" -- and he included the falsehood in his kick-off speech in June 2011. It stands to reason, then, that the same lie would provide a bookend, bringing the Republican's ridiculous smear full circle.
But for those who still care about facts and reality, Romney really is lying. Obama has never apologized for America. The Republican knows this, but keeps repeating the claim anyway, hoping voters won't know the difference.
And what about Obama not having visited Israel in his first term?
As we talked about in July, the attack at least has the benefit of being partially accurate -- Obama visited Israel as a candidate, but has not been back during his first term. If Republicans choose to find that outrageous, their complaints are grounded in fact.
The problem, however, is the selective nature of their disgust. George W. Bush didn't visit Israel at any point during his first term, and neither did Bill Clinton. Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush didn't travel to Israel during their respective terms in office at all.
Is there any record of Romney ever condemning any of these other presidents for the same reason? Nope.
Moreover, Obama did visit Israel as a candidate, and as he explained last night, he did so the right way.
"You know, if we're going to talk about trips that we've taken, you know, when I was a candidate for office, first trip I took was to visit our troops. And when I went to Israel as a candidate, I didn't take donors, I didn't attend fundraisers, I went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum there, to remind myself the nature of evil and why our bond with Israel will be unbreakable.
"And then I went down to the border towns of Sderot, which had experienced missiles raining down from Hamas. And I saw families there who showed me where missiles had come down near their children's bedrooms, and I was reminded of what that would mean if those were my kids, which is why, as president, we funded an Iron Dome program to stop those missiles.
"So that's how I've used my travels when I travel to Israel and when I travel to the region."
When Romney visited Israel over the summer, he brought donors, held a fundraiser, brought his teleprompter, and made every effort to make his trip as campaign-oriented as humanly possible.
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MSNBC -- you should be investigated and fined by the FEC for running campaign ads guised as opinions segments via your "LEAN" FORWARD voter issue campaign (reinforcing Obama's slogan "FORWARD").
There is no doubt (see the transcripts) that Obama has apologized openly for U.S. actions abroad and indicated he would work in a more collaborative way with Muslim nations - and not dictate. The President has embraced terrorist organizations - rather than stand up to them. It's easy to take credit for OBL's death, but he has shown no consistent policy.
Worse, he's invited known anti-American/terrorist organizations to the White House to engage --
A year-long investigation by the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) has found that scores of known radical Islamists made hundreds of visits to the Obama White House, meeting with top administration officials.
Court documents and other records have identified many of these visitors as belonging to groups serving as fronts for the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and other Islamic militant organizations.
The IPT made the discovery combing through millions of White House visitor log entries. IPT compared the visitors' names with lists of known radical Islamists. Among the visitors were officials representing groups which have:
Having read Mr. Benen's article (and being a lifelong registered Democrat who worked on the Carter re-election campaign) all I can say is that it hurts most when it strikes close to home. Stating that Mr. Romney lies about the "apology tour" and that Mr. Romney is hoping voters won't know the difference, is simply insulting. Whether I as a voter agree with what Mr. Romney says, I certainly understand the kernal of truth underlying the assertion. It is the fact that it has a basis in fact that hurts the most. I am certain I was not the only US citizen who was a little miffed (to put it mildly) when the President made his speeches in Europe and Egypt which to my not-knowing-the-difference ears sounded a lot like a Presidential mea culpa on behalf of all Americans. That Mr Benen not only refuses to see this connection and that the President insists it is a "whopper" says more for the reporter and President's unwillingness to concede mistakes than it does for the truth and veracity of Mr. Romney or his statement.
Or in real world terms I'm just another Mitt wit lying for the GOP cause and believe all the spins the GOP used to come up with the lie especially the ones made up in the minds of Beck and Rush while they were snorting Oxycontin from each others backsides. Here is a clue, a real president strengthens his ties with other nations only morons try to push those nations away.
Wow, what a response. Sorry to offend your sensibilities.
Perhaps a willingness to consider other views may help diminish your bitterness that others do not always share your world view.
BTW, 1413 K Street, NW. We did not occupy the first floor. Check you sources. I'm sure with your high level of intelligence you will find someone else who worked at the campaign in 1979-1980. Perhaps they can also tell you what establishment was on the first floor.