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Subscribe to RSSSAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Just minutes before President Obama was to address the American Legion convention in Minnesota, and one day after Texas Gov. Rick Perry addressed the same room here at the national VFW convention, Mitt Romney took the podium this morning to assail the president on foreign policy.
"Have we ever had a president who was so eager to address the world with an apology on his lips and doubt in his heart?" Romney asked the crowd rhetorically. "He seems truly confused not only about America’s past but our future."
The speech was darker in tone than when he talks of foreign policy at his smaller campaign stops. The former governor spared no ammunition in criticizing the president Obama for his foreign-policy approach.
On two of America's three ongoing military engagements, Romney was even more direct.
"First, President Obama acted as if it were a great surprise that a rebellion erupted, even though The Arab Spring was already in full swing in Tunisia and Egypt," Romney said of the president's leadership on Libya. "Our involvement in Libya was marked by inadequate clarity of purpose before we began the mission, mission muddle during the operation, and ongoing confusion as to our role in the future."
On President Obama’s withdrawal plans from Afghanistan, Romney said, “[T]he President has chosen to disregard the counsel of the generals on the ground. I don’t know of a single military advisor to President Obama who recommended the withdrawal plan the president chose, and that puts the success of our soldiers and our mission at greater risk."
Further, Romney called the U.S. response to the Iranian elections of 2009 and the subsequent protests that were crushed by the Iranian government "a disgrace."
Though, he didn’t say exactly what his response would have been.
This came within the context of a larger critique of the administration's views on foreign policy, and efforts to cut defense spending, which Romney said must be founded upon either one of two mistaken beliefs: that the world was becoming a safer place or that America was becoming a lesser power.
The former governor said that any belief in America as a lesser power "flows from the conviction that if we are weak, tyrants will choose to be weak as well; that if we could just talk more, engage more, pass more U.N. resolutions, that peace will break out." He continued, "That may be what they think in that Harvard faculty lounge, but it’s not what they know on the battlefield!"
Romney graduated from Harvard in 1975 with a combined J.D./M.B.A.
Romney also looked to present himself not as yet another government official, but as a private-sector outsider.
"I am a conservative businessman," Romney told several hundred veterans assembled in a cavernous ballroom. "I have spent most of my life outside of politics, dealing with real problems in the real economy. Career politicians got us into this mess and they simply don't know how to get us out!"
Highlighting his private-sector experience has long been a hallmark of Romney's stump speech, but some observers see a renewed focus on the former CEO's time in the private sector as an effort to draw contrast with the surging Perry, who has served continuously in public office since 1985.
But Romney has run for public office four times, including this year, since 1994. And while he has highlighted his private-sector experience to differentiate himself from Perry, he has also highlighted his government experience to separate himself from Herman Cain, for example, the only other candidate to have served as a CEO.
“I respect Herman Cain,” Romney said two weeks ago, “but I also think it’s helpful to have had that government experience that I’ve had.”
Romney also referenced his managerial experience in the private sector when it came to defense policy, telling the crowd he could not wait for a chance to turn wasted defense dollars into newer ships and planes.
"Let me tell you, as a conservative businessman who has spent most of his life in the private sector,” he said, “I look at that kind of inefficiency and bloat and say, ‘Let me at it.’”
Romney mentioned his background in business explicitly twice, and made mention of his governorship three times.
Video edited by NBC's Natalie Cucchiara.
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Didn't even read the article. My first and last reaction to it is... gee, a candidate from one party criticizing the incumbent from the other party. Never seen that before.
And given that it's Romney, I've also never seen any substantive criticism on anything before, so what's the point of reading the article?
Mr. Romney needs to figure out his immediate fight is with Gov Perry. Trying to act like the front runner above the nominating battle fray seemed smart, but it's starting to sound really odd.
Gee go figure...a Republican complaining about Democratic foriegn policy before an election. Do these morons Romney & Perry & Co. actually think anyone is stupid enough to let Bush & Cheney off the hook for any of our problems? Whether domestic or foriegn. Republicans have no solutions, but they sure know how to bitch, and place blame.
And I'm sure they have made and will make more money than any of us middle class Americans on the military ventures handed down to Obama from Bush!!
BTW...is Romney saying we have failed to manage the Gadafi issue?? Where is that guy? Didn't he get his ass kicked with out us??
Hmmm...whose idea was that?
Republicans are war mongers and are all interested in flexing their muscles and bombing every country that they do not like. The world is at peace whenever a Democrat is in the White House, and with Obama we can rest certain that the military won't be sent somewhere where they are in harms way, like Iraq where 5000 troops dies for a senseless war.
Let's see:
Osama bin laden dead ... check
Plan to wind down two simulataneous foreign wars ... check
Allowed Arab spring to happen because of Arab desires and Arab leadership ... check
Didn't undermine allies in the UN ... check
Doesn't feel the need to go policing the world ... check
....
Romney the last place I'd attack this president is on foreign policy ... but go ahead. Meanwhile he'll continue to clean up the mess the president george w cheney made for us.
Obama has been a stunning failure with his foreign policy, which is based first in the "America is Bad" philosophy, and a close runner up is his appeasement of our enemies.
The sooner Obama goes away, the better. We need a leader, not a neo-Socialist follower.
Yes socialism doesn't do anything. Roads, libraries, hospitals, schools. Nothing I can think of. Brainless.
Socialism leads to the collapse of societies.
USSR, Cuba etc. It also leads to massive ignorance.
Funny you should use the USSR as an example, since its collapse was due to all the wealth being concentrated in the hands of the rich "job-creating" oligarchs at the top.
Hmmm, sound familiar?
Why are we taking shots at each other and their blogs? We should be taking shots at our Senators and Representatives on a daily, weekly basis until they get the picture . In the case of Obamamamma I think he was selected to run because he looked good in a suit. In his case...the old saying...." if you can't dazzle them with your brilliance....baffle them with your bull#$$@. He is sooooooo far in over his head that he is beginning to think like a grad school kid. Sorry, I'm giving him too much credit. The Republicans didn't create Irene and I doubt if the Republicans gave everyone on the East coast living near the water a $9.00 per month special homeowners insurance. Hell, on one in the Mid West got such a deal and they deal with a lot more floods and tornados. No matter who's too blame, the problems need to get fixed and unfortunately our current 534 paid career politicians DON'T KNOW HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. They've never been in this positiion before. BUT.......maybe if we stop the special EAR MARK programs DEAR TO ALL POLITICIANS HEARTS, FEMA would have the funds necessary. Do we really need a US Ambassadors cultural fund so we can send funds to China and Pakistan to rebuild Mosques? Did we really need to send $770,000,000 to Cairo Egypt to rebuild their sewer systems. The list goes on and on. Politicians all say the same thing, " well, that isn't very much money". These line items all add up to keeping FEMA healthy, keeping Medicare and Social Security on track. These politicians more than likely have NEVER balanced their own checking accounts or filled their own cars with gasoline. Naturally they don't know how to fix things...they've never had to in the past. I really don't think there is any bringing these politicians back to earth. Their EGO's won't let them. LET'S START OVER!!!!!
There was a time when Romney was somewhat credible. Now he is grasping at straws. It's almost pathetic to watch him . . . almost. Doesn’t he understand that he has no chance of ever becoming president of the United States? Bow out now, Mr. Romney – with whatever little dignity you have left. You are becoming more and more of an embarrassment on a daily basis.
I think President Obama has gotten himself into a
precarious position in the global arena. His political philosophy seems to be
that of a cultural relavist. The idea is to let each nation live the culture
and lifestyle that they wish, whether it is right or wrong. According to
Michael Tomasky, in The Daily Beast, “Call it the doctrine of no doctrine: using our power and
influence but doing so prudently and multilaterally, with the crucial
recognition that Egypt is different from Libya is different from Syria is
different from someplace else.” Another relevant quote is from Jonah Goldberg of National Review
Online. “Obama's Libya policy may not amount to
a doctrine, but it did establish two principles. In March, Obama explained that
we must intervene when there's a risk of massacres or genocide, but we can
never do so alone unless Americans are directly at risk.” Now while I am not a proponent
of the U.S. policing the world, I will say I agree with breaking those cultural
boundaries to prevent genocide from happening. I am not a huge fan of Romney or
Perry, but I think they are accurate in saying the president has apology on his
lips and doubt in his heart.