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Subscribe to RSSBloomberg View columnist William Cohan and Democratic strategist Julian Epstein discuss why Mitt Romney is still fumbling for answers over his 2011 tax return – despite their Friday release – and whether he’ll ever be able to explain how he pays for his proposed, across-the-board tax cuts.
DENVER -- Mitt Romney today attempted to shift focus to what he called President Barack Obama's lack of leadership in the Middle East, as world leaders began to gather in New York City for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly.
The Romney campaign this afternoon offered a series of interviews with major U.S. TV networks, in which Romney hammered Obama for referring to a series of flare-ups in the Middle East as "bumps in the road."
In Colorado, Mitt Romney insisted to NBC News that he'll win. The Obama campaign, meanwhile, has unveiled a new TV ad tying Romney's tax returns with his comments about the 47 percent. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.
"When the president was speaking about 'bumps in the road' he was talking about the developments in the Middle East, and that includes an assassination. It includes a Muslim Brotherhood individual becoming president of Egypt. It includes Syria being in tumult," Romney told NBC's Peter Alexander. "It includes Iran being on the cusp of nuclear capability. It includes Pakistan being in commotion."
Mitt Romney will stump in Colorado on Monday and then travel to Ohio via bus tour all ahead of next week's first debate. The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd reports.
Romney continued, "There are extraordinary events going on in the Middle East, and considering those events, either one of them or all of them collectively, as bumps in the road shows a person who has a very different perspective about world affairs than the perspective I have. I think this is a time for America to exert leadership and this is not something that we are doing in the Middle East ... ."
Romney was referring to an answer Obama gave in an interview which aired last night on CBS News' "60 Minutes," in which the president defended his support for emerging governments in the Middle East as a result of the Arab spring.
Charles Dharapak / AP
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney boards his plane in Denver, Monday, Sept. 24, 2012.
Kroft: Have the events that took place in the Middle East, the recent events in the Middle East given you any pause about your support for the governments that have come to power following the Arab Spring?
Obama: Well, I'd said even at the time that this is going to be a rocky path. The question presumes that somehow we could have stopped this wave of change. I think it was absolutely the right thing for us to do to align ourselves with democracy, universal rights, a notion that people have to be able to participate in their own governance. But I was pretty certain and continue to be pretty certain that there are going to be bumps in the road because, you know, in a lot of these places, the one organizing principle has been Islam. The one part of society that hasn't been controlled completely by the government. There are strains of extremism, and anti-Americanism, and anti-Western sentiment. And, you know, can be tapped into by demagogues. There will probably be some times where we bump up against some of these countries and have strong disagreements, but I do think that over the long term we are more likely to get a Middle East and North Africa that is more peaceful, more prosperous and more aligned with our interests.
The Romney campaign seized on those comments -- in an attempt to chip away at the president's approval rating on foreign affairs, which slid in the last NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll to 49 percent.
(However, a series of NBC/WSJ/Marist polls in the battleground states of Colorado, Iowa, and Wisconsin show Obama enjoying a double-digit lead over Romney when it comes to who would better handle foreign policy.)
NBC's Peter Alexander spoke with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in Denver about the upcoming debates, world affairs, and if it is possible to change the tone in Washington.
The Obama White House fired back on Romney, arguing that it was "offensive" to suggest that the president was minimizing the deaths of four Americans in Libya, including the U.S. ambassador there.
"That assertion is both desperate and offensive," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said. "The president was referring to the transformations in the region, to this process that has -- only began less than two years ago, as we saw in Tunisia, and continues to this day, with remarkable transformations occurring in countries around the region."
Also in the interview, NBC's Alexander pressed Romney on the current polling that shows him trailing Obama.
Romney remained defiant.
"I'm very pleased with the fact that we have a campaign that is taking our message to the people across America, and look --- we're gonna win," Romney said. "There is no question in my mind. We're gonna win."
NBC's Jordan Frasier contributed to this article.
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Check out unskewedpolls.com... Romney is up 7.5+ points on Obama on every pollsters chart... No doubt the dems were skewing the poll numbers and cooking the books...
All depends on who you poll. All depends on who goes to the polls. The only poll numbers that count come on election day.
R/R 2012
Hey djames1277, want to make a bet on who wins? On second thought, don't bother; you wouldn't pay off like all dead-beat Repubs who have an excuse for everything when it comes to parting with their $$.
Don't need to bet.. obama is a laughing stock loser like Jimmy Carter!! And just like Carter, he will lose big!! Its so similar how these two are a lot alike... ;)
Croaker.. a lot of money is going to be lost on Oblaaa blaaa.... and don't croak if you lose too....HAHAHA
Mr. Romney rates about a 28.7% chance of winning, according to intrade, where bettors put their money on the line. The trend is against Mr. Romney. He has little time remaining to close the recently opening gap in odds.
Looks like intrade has a math problem.
Markets involved
155
Total number of markets listed on Intrade for this event
Correct Predictions
103
Number of markets where Intrade predicted correct outcome.
Calculated by comparing previous days close price with final settlement of each market.
We had previous day close prices for 112 markets.
Incorrect Predictions
9
Riiight. When the real polls won't work, invent one and call the local Republican headquarters. Hell, even Karl Rove's in-house poll doesn't have Romney up by 7.5%. But ignorance is bliss.
It must suck for you Jim to be in a the heavy red state of TX!!! a misplaced LIB....LOL
djames your language and verbal approach to this presidential race lead me to believe you probably weren't even old enough to vote when Carter was president. Hell you were probably still in your play pen with a giant ring of keys in your mouth.
Mitt; you are grasping at air-straws - you are so freaking desperate. My God man; please stop trying to define the content of anything Pres Obama says to fit your hate filled, caotic agenda. You are a pathetic, moronic idiot if you think anyone interpreted "bumps in the road" to include the killing of the 4 in Libya that included our ambassador.
Want to speculate and define something Mr. Romney; tell all Americans and everyone else in the world how you define American presidential leadership in the Middle East region.
Everyone reading this, please keep your opinions to yourself. I/we want to hear from Mr. Romney on this issue; because it's his definition we need to know - no one else's. Thank you.
Hymie The Romney Robot along with Eddie Munster Ryan will jump on @!$%# if they thought they could get a vote out of it. Romney is an IDIOT. Ryan isn't the brightest light-bulb in the pack either. This election is a shoe-in for Obama.
Now all you have left is name calling... so sad.. ;)
djames1277
Poor liberal tards... going to lose big in Nov.... HAHAHAHA
Way to practice what you preach. typical republican hypocrisy.
It is really disappointing to me, that Obama flew off to Vegas to pick up a check while Chris Stevens was lying on slab in Germany. Unfortunately the administration hasn't given the public the real deal on what happened that night in Libya and probably never will. That consulate was US soil and the citizens in the US deserve to have the truth. There is definitely some stonewalling going on. The MSM continues to give the President a pass, and hasn't asked the really tough questions. Focusing on Romney's taxes is just plain dumb. What real difference does it make? The last president that wasn't a millionaire when they were elected was Harry Truman. Its just more fud to keep from asking the really hard questions. I thought the Univision interview was really telling and the President and his staff were clearly not on the same page with their story. Why will the President not meet with any leaders this week while he's in New York? Is he leaving the Israelis to roast? It sure seems that way, but I don't know. BTW I'm an Independent voter, not a Dem or Rep, but I can't vote for the President this time around, it just seems like he isn't up for the job.
Gary Johnson and Ron Paul should run together.
...and GW Bush was drinking beers in his pickup down in Crawford while thousands of US young kids were getting put in body bags...
Jesse Ventura and Howard Stern are going to run together in 2016 - I'm all for shaking things up in four years.
...and how dare Obama put the interests of the United States about that of our closest ally and shining beacon of democracy, Israel...!
Did you mean "above that of our..."
yes
The election in Egypt was a DEMOCRATIC ELECTION -- they chose! We spent 30 years supporting a dictator who supported the US. He kept emergency laws in place for 30 YEARS!!!
He was over thrown. What did Mitt want the US to do? Fix the election?
Persuade the Egyptian people that they should forget the last 30 years of dictatorship?
Only morons support Romney.
REAL PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL ... WOW .. WHAT A BONEHEAD .. YEP ... KEEP ON VOTING FOR HIM
On Monday, Mitt Romney offered a remedy to the problem that caused his wife’s airplane to land prematurely last week: Allow passengers to roll down the airplane windows.
Ann Romney’s plane was grounded Friday after the main cabin filled with smoke. The small electrical fire caused no injuries, but apparently did cause the Presidential candidate to forget the dangers of altitude.
“When you have a fire in an aircraft, there’s no place to go, exactly,” he told the LA Times. “And you can’t find any oxygen from outside the aircraft to get in the aircraft, because the windows don’t open. I don’t know why they don’t do that. It’s a real problem.”
Air crafts do not open windows because the cabins are pressurized to fly safely at an altitude of tens of thousand feet. Opening a window in an airplane would seriously sicken the passengers and crew.
ROFLMAO!
Did he REALLY say that?
I would love to see the source . I hear Obama say he plans on raising taxes on all white people. But I heard that somewhere.....
Apparently the story is true...he doesn't know that a cabin is pressurized or that oxygen feeds a fire....
Reading the comments of the GOP and their claim that our President is not providing enough leadership in the middle east, especially now with the violent uprising over the film, what I haven't heard from any of the Republicans is their definition of the kind of leadership they say is not being exercised. Are they stating running in our military with guns blazing? I'm following along as with everyone else on this and all I've heard is more political rhetoric.
Romney is obviously a man who will say anything for what he thinks is political gain, no matter what the outcome of his comments would bring.
Mitt you didn't learn your lesson the last time you opened your mouth.
Are you one of those people who think they are incapable of mistakes?
Just shut up before you get someone if not all of us killed! This is not a game!
As opposed to the President who last week while speaking to Univision said his biggest regret was not getting an immigration law and last night on 60 minutes he said his biggest regret was not changing the culture in Washington.
To Mitt this is all a GAME!
Romney never did anything for anybody that wasn't a line on his resume. EVER!
He spent his whole life evading taxes then complains about those of us who don't make enough to have to pay by the tax rules REPUBLICANS introduced in 1994!!
Running for president is just another Mitt game...
Mitt is such a girl.
So the UN is meeting in NY and Obama is there as weel, no he isn't meeting with world leaders his is taping "The View", probably get some hard questions there.
A Jew voting for Barack Hussein Obama is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders.
Only when you consider that Israel has violated the Camp David accords for 30 years -- continuing to build settlements on territory they allotted to Palestinians for peace so many years ago...
Israel doesnt want peace, they want a piece...the whole piece...and whining about it as they keep expanding, keep stealing, keep killing...I'm hoping Iran makes the big announcement we are all expecting to hear real soon, that may force the Israelis to define their borders and implement the 2 state solution as outlined by Geneva, the Hague, and the UN...
He has time for Joan Bahar, and Woopi but not a leader of either Iseral or any of the Arb leaders, we know where his priorities are!
You left out Letterman and that the press would never have allowed George Bush to get away without answering questions the way that they let this POC POTUS get away without having press conferences and without answering their questions. I remember David Gregory flipping out at a press conference on Tony Snow where are these tough guys with Jay Carney, he gets up and lies about Libya, Susan Rice lies to their faces about Libya and they just let them go. The press let David Corn feed them out of context tapes for his own personal agenda and they look so unprofessional.
Please tell us all the lies!!
The tapes of Romney are a COMPLETE TAPE -- even Romney has stopped saying OUT OF CONTEXT!!!
If it's the whole event -- THAT'S IN CONTEXT!!!
Maybe Obama believes that the US is not Israel's bitch...?...Ya, I know, unthinkable right?
Looking at the filming it makes me wonder, the pictures appear to be coming from behind some drapes hanging in the room, could Obama have had a Secret service agent tape Mitt Romneys speech?
I would start at 4:40 and continue through around 10:00 if you really care to know what was said and meant (not at 7:41 and continuing for 30 seconds like Dave Corn and the rest of these non news agencies chose to take the quote) of tape part 1 on the following link and continue to listen, instead of paying attention to MSNBC, NBC, CNN, CBS or ABC who all ran with the damaging clips 6 days ago but will never run the rest of the tape where Romney makes total sense on how the Palestinan Israeli peace is a huge problem because the Palestinians do not want peace and when given a country of their own they use it to launch strikes against innocent people, but that he would never rule out peace.
""
The entire video has been available for everyone to watch on the sites of all those networks. The only reason it wasn't shown in it's entirety on the news shows is because it's so long and there's so much idiocy coming from Romney's mouth, it had to be shown in segments. You are really putting forth a conspiracy theory that Obama and the secret service taped Romney?!? Wow!!! And you seriously think the sentiment that the Palestinians do not want peace and when given a country of their own, they would use it to launch strikes against innocent people......you think people should listen to this and it will help Romney?!?
you must have been watchin ole gretchin on fox this morning.
Obviously your a fox only viewer. You should branch out some. There's allot more to the world other then seen through rush, hannity, billo and the crew.
Just because you don't like what you hear doesn't make it wrong and immediately up for conspiracy theories.
The tapes were made by a bartender with an Iphone!!!
The point is that there is 4 minutes of dialogue concerning Israel and that the main stream press takes a section that does not represent what was being said, and you think I should branch out? Knowing the whole story is branching out, listening to one source and believing it is being a follower. Enjoy your day follower, not much to do with your guberment subsidies and food stamps so take your EBT card and get your self a brown bag, a quart of beer, a pack of smokes and sit on your steps and be stupid.
I know we will never see a tape of Obama at a fund raiser, he would send the Department of Justice to investigate.
Mitt, you are the one with a bump on your head for making daily attacks on the leadership capabilities of the current President. What I never hear is how your policies would be different along and the favorable results you hope to attain. I cannot wait for the debates to hear you waffling once more with no details to present.
So what are the current leadership capabilities, to get the press to lie for them? To go fund raising immediately after Terrorists kill our ambassador, but lie to the american voter and tell us it is about some stupid movie clip?
I think you do not expect much from your leader and he is not doing a very good job, but you are happy with his lack of leadership.
If you think the press reports all the information or intelligence known regarding operations you are naive. This presidency is no different than all predecessors and those to follow. Could it be better , of course. It could also br a lot worse and bring us into many more conflicts in the middle east that we have no business being engaged in.
No man who would bow before a Muslim King is fit to be an American president. That unforgettable display by Obama was utterly disrespectful to everyone who has worn the military uniform and specifically to those who died fighting in foreign wars on behalf of their country.
Was it disrespectful to everyone who has worn the military uniform when Bush kissed that same King's cheeks and held his hands?
whether you like it or not, there is a little thing called diplomatic protocal that is followed by all world leaders.
What would you have him do, kick him in the nuts?
Sending soldiers into an illegitimate war is ok then right?
Sue if you've ever been to the middel east you would understand men of equal stature great each other as Bush did. Obama bowed to the king making himself subservant. I didn't feel comfortable with cheek bumping or worse the hand holding but it is their custom and I was in their country so not a problem but no ones bows to each other.
LOL - yeah about now a good kick in the nutts is what these yahoos overseas need!
You are wasting your time trying to clue these backward asses in on things, mrriggs. They don't get much "learnin' down at Mickey's Bar and Massage Parlor. But you notice its okay when Bush gives one of them a wet Willie and holds hands with the king when they stroll through the sunflowers and Johnson grass at Crawford.
Yeah, I figured i'd just tease em today. Some of these comments are so lame brained I can't pass up the opening for a smart ass comment.
If Obama was a republican, he would be considered (by the GOP) as the greatest president of modern times.
If Bush were a democrat, what he did to our economy and standing in the worlds eyes would have ruined the democratic party for at least a generation.
The Beirut Barracks Bombing (October 23, 1983 in Beirut, Lebanon) occurred during the Lebanese Civil War, when two truck bombs struck separate buildings housing United States and French military forces—members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon—killing 299 American servicemen.
President Ronald Reagan called the attacks despicable. There was no serious retaliation for the Beirut bombing from the Americans.
Was Reagan weak. No, he did what he and the national security team thought was best for the United States...the same as Obama does, time after time.
The problem here is when it was first reported the administration said it was spontaneous, then they said it was terrorist, but at the same time saying it was spontaneous in retaliation for a movie. The questions are if we were warned, why were no precautions taken to safeguard our Ambassador? I do not think anybody is calling for troops but straight answers to questions.
Got a flash for you, Slick ~ we were warned for damned near six solid months that bin Laden was going to attack us and there was not a single shred of effort made to implement safeguards. If you do the simple math, it looks like Obama has 2,996 more victims to go before he reaches that level of incompetence and malfeasance. I'm sure you see things differently. Why am I not surprised?
Jerry
You mean, intelligence about the attack came in slowly over the next week? Much of that information came from the suspects the Libyans arrested and gave our intelligence people access to. A president cannot always tell the American people what's going on in real time; up till now the American people have always agreed with the president that National security came before our right to know immediately. The Libyans have already arrested 50 people in connection with this and amazingly the Libyan people have run armed militias out of 4 of their rat holes and told them no more violence; we want democracy.
According to the Libya Officials and British sources the U.S. was warned 2 days prior not after as you stated.
http://www.npr.org/2012/09/20/161491148/libyan-militiaman-says-he-warned-u-s-of-dangers
According to CNN it was 3 days prior.
I do not blame the President for the attack as he cannot control everything, but we were attacked and there seems to be a coverup and constant changing of the story
Jerry -- The Libyan government denies that.
Mitt Romney is a desperate man who would say things (and do them) that would provoke war in the Middle East and cost millions of lives. Israel and Jewish people do not need this empty suit of a man for a friend. He could care less how many Jews would die in a war with Iran. And his master teacher, Sheldon Adelson, the gambling mogul, is a war monger--but never criticizes China (a trade friend of Iran) because of his gambling interests.
Romney knows noting about foreign policy, except how to make meaningless statements
Such stupidity all in one post. Hard to know where to start.
Romney criticizes China all of the time so what are you trying to say
Romney maybe the worst candidate ever. Now I understand why more and more people in the Republican party are going to write in Ron Paul.
Be very afraid lib.... it won't go well for you tards.....lol Romney will do the right things and be transparent... something the dems have no stomach for.....HAHA
Speaking of transparency. Where are Mittens tax returns for the last 10 years? What is he hiding? Did he accept tax amnesty for off shore accounts? Did he pay zero taxes?
dispatches
Your inference that Mr. Romney refuses to release earlier tax returns because those returns would reveal him to have been a tax evader prior to the year of amnesty is very plausible.
Why else would Mr. Romney take so much heat for not releasing the earlier returns?
Less bad to be regarded with suspicion of tax evasion than to be a proven tax evader prior to electing the amnesty.
You've sure got that right. Romney is transparent ~ you can see right through the phony fat cat.
Who lost Iran? Jimmy "malaise" Carter.
Who gave away Egypt? Barack "so sorry" Hussein Ostumbler.
Don't forget Reagan "cuttin & runnin" after the Marine barracks blew up in Beirut.
Nice try. We had a heavy hand in deposing the Iranian government and installing our stooge to head the country. When the people of Iran kicked out our carefully installed Shah, we had to run rescue his ass before they killed him. Hatred for the US by Iranians pre-dates Carter by several years. It just came to a head during his tenure. The general population doesn't hold much grudge against us but the Iranian governmental administration and the ruling Ayatollahs have nothing but contempt for the US.
Check out unskewedpolls.com for the real numbers in this race.... Romney is up by 7.8 points and bigger in other polls.... LOL
DEMS & libs trying to skew the numbers....lol
You've got nothing better than repeating the same post over and over again? Now I'm convinced you're on some republican payroll.
Check out unskewedpolls.com for the real numbers in this race.... Romney is up by 7.8 points and bigger in other polls.... LOL
DEMS & libs trying to skew the numbers....lol
I check this out everyday. Very insightfull. Of course i'm the dumbest person in the world to.
Yep, you need a life.
But if you want to use a poll to gain insight on a race or to learn more about the public perception of an issue, just understand this: the methodology, the mentality, and the mathematics of UnskewedPolls.com leads to some incorrect conclusions.
- Business Insider
And speaking of stupid things that Romney says; how about the gem about the uninsured going to emergency rooms for care....why didn't the uninsured think about that before now!!! That single sentence may be the stupidest thing Romney has said...since he insulted the Brits in London!
Sueb1....no way! I heard one today that takes the cake. I'm paraphrasing from an eirlier post but Mitt was questioning why airplane windows don't open up just in case smoke fills the cabin.
Okay, I give; and you just reminded me of Romney in Louisiana surveying the damage from the hurricane: 'Where does the water come from, the sky, the rivers or the ocean"
Of course, perhaps Mitt was in a plane and someone opened a window...it would explain a lot!
or it would help alot.
This arrogant, condescending, inept jackass has the gall to refer to 4 dead Americans and a Middle East in flames due largely to his incompetence as a "bump in the road". I've got news for this clown act. His Marxist administration is about to hit a major road bump come November 6.
So every other president has been incompetent too regarding the Middle East? Do you really think ANY president can have a positive influence on the Middle East. If so, stick to domestic issues, because that delusion is supremely naive.
just this one mactardy.... lol
Macdeezy, sounds like you agree with Romney that Peace in the Middle East is probably just wishful thinking, of course he said more than that bbut do not expect NBC news to do anything but do out of context quotes to fool the sheep.
djames, you might as well lol, cause nobody else is laughing at your weak jokes, and simplistic arguments.
And yes, I agree with Mitt on the pipe dream of not achieving peace in the ME. That is a no brainer.
Upstate, there wasn't anything out of context about Romney's remarks. If there were, he has had ample time to correct the record but I haven't heard a mumblin' word of correction from him. When Romney agrees with the NBC presentation, it fairly well suggests that we can accept it as accurate.
Remember Carter and Iran? The US was not feared or respected then. Looks like history repeating itself with Obama in office.
Would you care to tell us when the US has been feared or respected by Iran, or for that matter, any other Middle East state? The closest thing to fear rests with Israel ~ they are afraid we might not agree to their aggressor plans for strikes against Iran.