In a new ad, the Obama campaign is asserting that Mitt Romney wouldn’t have gone after Osama bin Laden:
President Obama’s campaign is … argu[ing that] Mitt Romney would not have launched the raid to capture Osama bin Laden last year….
The campaign suggests Romney would not have ordered the raid by pointing to a 2007 interview with The Associated Press in which Romney said: “It’s not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person.” …
That quote tells us that Romney was endorsing the George W. Bush approach to bin Laden (“I really just don’t spend that much time on him, to be honest with you”). And that’s the problem: Not only does Romney’s statement suggest that bin Laden would be alive if Romney were president, it suggests that Romney will meekly go along with GOP orthodoxy at all times.
Everyone knew that President Bush began prioritizing Iraq over Al Qaeda shortly after Tora Bora — or before. Mitt Romney had the opportunity in the 2008 campaign to distinguish himself from Bush — and he either didn’t think there was anything wrong with the Bush approach or didn’t have the guts to make a break with Bush.
What this tells us (as if we didn’t already know) is that Romney is no leader. He’ll slavishly follow whoever sets the tone in his party. And that’s what we really need to take away from that moment in 2007.
(X-posted at No More Mister Nice Blog.)
WANTED: Dead or Alive
or, you know, look over there!! SADDAM!!
I’m beginning to think that part of the Obama campaign strategy to keep pressing on Romney many statements. I know that the MSM are aware of the strategy turn, but I think another aspect of the strategy is to be so precise in their attacks and leaving no “real” room for R-Money and the R-Money millionaires campaign to maneuever. I think it works. Using Romney’s exact quotes to ring his neck is very effective, because unlike R-Money’s campaigns’ decision to distort and out right lie about what Obama actually said/says, the Obama campaign can point out that R-Money campaign is lying and that Obama did not say that. Can R-Money’s campaign really say the same about their client with all the evidence including video, articles, recording, etc that are available. I think they’ll try, but with ALL the gaffes and downright stupid statements from their candidate I just don’t think they will be able to keep up unless Obama, Biden, Axelrod and Ploufe and ‘nem have unforced errors.
Citizens United is the only saving grace R-Money has to even the playing field.
I think that even though the media would do it’s uptmost best to let Romney get away from all the crazy extreme RW BS he spewed due to the primary, but the campaign is so far making it REALLY hard for legitimate MSM to do so by using Romney own words (in the case of Joe Biden on foreign policy) and in the own words of the Romney surrogates.
Case in point:
Obama on Ledbetter Act: I Won’t Have To `Get Back To You’
Speaking of the Joe Biden speech as an example, it was so effective, even Mark “da dick” Halperin couldn’t fix his mouth to make this one “good for Romney”. Which means something since “da dick’s” lips are firmly plastered on R-Money’s ass.
I disagree.
One of Obama’s main memes is “Bin Laden’s dead and Detroit is alive”.
Catchy, yes, and I’m sure this will resonate with some voters, but what about other manufacturing? What about construction? Not doing well.
Note Obama doesn’t say much anymore regarding green jobs… I believe his claim a year or so ago was two million green jobs were in the pipeline. since most of these are construction-related and construction stinks right now, it’s understandabl we don’t hear much anymore about green jobs.
Sorry, going after Romney on OBL is not all that compelling. Since Great Britain is again entering a recession, thanks their austerity strategy, Obama needs to be attacking Romney/Ryan more on their plan to do the same. That will resonate much more with voters.
“Sorry, going after Romney on OBL is not all that compelling. Since Great Britain is again entering a recession, thanks their austerity strategy, Obama needs to be attacking Romney/Ryan more on their plan to do the same. That will resonate much more with voters.”
I agree. To a point.
I say doing both works best and best with the most voters
I would add that I’d like to see them put Romney on the defensive to explain exactly how his business experience at Bain Capital translates to leading the economy out of the doldrums, be Commander in Chief, and “leader of the free world”.
In reality, his time at Bain demonstrates a talent for manipulating paper profits –not being a real leader of companies with strategic vision, an eye for talent and ability to rally and lead people to higher levels of performance and value creation.
He wants to claim his business experience is his greatest strength — go after it because the more people know about, especially compared to the best business leaders out there, the less compelling it is.
We’ll have to agree to disagree on this.
Agreed that Romney/Bain’s notion of “creative destruction” of existing companies makes him vulnerable politically, but I just don’t think most voters give a crap about the war on terror now.
Look at the latest polling on issue importance for voters- national security/war on terror, and Afghanistan rank last on a list of several issues.
The economy and health care are at the top of the list.
These are the typical “pocketbook” issues in an election year- not whether or not Obama cared more about bush regarding getting OBL.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/importance_of_issues
Have you never heard of rope-a-dope? Obama campaign, certainly right now in April, can wait for opportunities to present themselves. No need to go on the attack.
Yes, but the austerity issue is not going to go away; may as well go on the attack now than later.
The larger issue IMHO is Obama is not going to be all that critical of austerity- since he can’t get any further stimulus funding or tax increaases passed thru our knuckleheaded congress.