Mitt's Shameful Libya Statement

[fleur-de-lisa]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by cyberswede (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Steve Kornacki, Salon.com

That it’s fundamentally dishonest hasn’t stopped Mitt Romney from repeating his central critique of Barack Obama’s foreign policy over and over – the idea that the president “went around the world and apologized for America.” So it shouldn’t be surprising that Romney’s response to the attacks on U.S. diplomatic installations in Egypt and Libya was rooted in the same caricature of Obama as apologizer-in-chief. “It’s disgraceful,” Romney’s statement, which was released late Tuesday night, read, “that the Obama administration’s first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.”

That’s not at all what happened, of course. The actual chronology goes something like this: As anti-American protests inspired by a crude Terry Jones video began gathering steam, the U.S. embassy in Cairo – and not the Obama White House — put out a statement condemning “the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims — as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions.”

The obvious intent was to cool the passions of the protesters. As Marc Ambinder explained, it was “exactly what Americans inside the embassy who are scared for their lives now and worry about revenge later need to have released in their name.”

Protests were also building in Libya, and sometime later the U.S. consulate in Benghazi came under siege, with news breaking late Tuesday night that a State Department official had been killed. It was around this time that two major American political figures released statements. One came from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and read: “I condemn in the strongest terms the attack on our mission. We are heartbroken by this terrible loss. There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind.” The other was Romney’s.



Read more: http://www.salon.com/2012/09/12/mitt%e2%80%99s_shameful_libya_statement/

[adigal]

1. And I will see this all over Facebook later. Ugh.

Stupid fools will believe every word. Romney has really crossed the line with this, and needs to be condemned for this.

[BlueMTexpat]

2. K&R for Hillary!

For Mitt, the booby prize.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

3. All this lying by Romney is going to come back to him

It's called negative karma and he's building tons of it. If we ever have the misfortune of this guy becoming President, his disgraceful actions will reap an extremely negative environment in which he will be hated like no other.

[reflection]

7. Yeah, and we'll all be the ones bearing the burden.

Much like we did when the alcohol-soaked W infected our White House.

[bkkyosemite]

4. Romney was basically asked

why he was making this statement at this time and he said because he is running for President. What? That means he can make statements that completely belong to the President to make. He is NOT President! It made me so mad when I heard him today. Politics to gain in the polls over the dead bodies still not cold. Disgusting piece of garbage. And I'm sure the President is furious with this idiot!

[Roland99]

5. But the M$M meme will be the opposite

[WallaceRitchie]

6. Wipe that grin off

That bastard Romney smirked and grinned his way through his morning presser on the deaths of Americans overseas. Goddamn disgusting opportunist. He has no sense of gravity or tragedy.

[GoldenOldie]

10. Romney's disturbing appearance this AM

Romney first appeared at his presser, red faced and tearful.....as though he was holding back tears. Yet, it looked a little phony, as though he had used something to make him tear up so as to give the appearance that he really cared about the deaths of these American Foreign Service workers. It soon became apparent when seconds later, as his face returned to the normal flat vacant look as he went on the attack of President Obama and Ambassadors who worked under his Administration. It was obvious that he cared less about the deaths of dedicated Foreign Service workers but only of himself and his campaign.

With all the bad press regarding his inability to understand or have compassion for the middle class, I am sure his campaign staff and make-up people took steps to give the appearance of sympathy for the loss of life. Poor Mittens, couldn't even fake it.

[kiranon]

19. Romney has seriously miscalculated if he thinks his ill timed

appearance/statement will help his campaign. It will have the opposite effect. Romney's election would create a vacuum in the area of foreign affairs that the neocons are all too ready to fill. A vacuum would be a great symbol for cartoonists to use to represent Romney IMHO.

[magic59]

8. These are the games republicans play

First, a republican makes a movie for the purpose of inciting violence in the Mideast THEN mitt & elephant ears trample over dead Americans using this violence to garner more votes.

[oliverrams1]

9. Romney

I don't pretend to understand everything about foreign policy, but Romney makes himself look very extreme standing up for a filmmaker who sparks such violence. This is very dangerous for our country at this point in time.

[SoapBox]

11. Such the asshole...

despicable.

[WallaceRitchie]

12. Romney grinning at presser on American deaths (photo)

[IMG][/IMG]

[elleng]

13. And, Romney Stands by Criticism of White House on Libya, Egypt.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Wednesday stood by his criticism of the Obama administration for its initial response to attacks against U.S. diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt, calling the White House's reaction disgraceful.

Romney has drawn criticism for a statement his campaign issued on Tuesday night attacking the U.S. Embassy in Cairo for releasing a statement that the Republican said was an apology for U.S. values.

The embassy had condemned a film . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/09/12/world/africa/12reuters-usa-libya-romney.html?_r=1&hp

[cosmicone]

14. A smart and wise candidate would have said..

"When attacked by foreign elements, we are all Americans and I'll fully support President Obama in whatever action he chooses to take while deeply sympathizing with the families of those who died while serving our great country."

A statement like this would have given him better press. However, RMoney is so egotistical and his corporate mind is so tone deaf that it is just not in him to be smart and wise.

[fugop]

15. They always screw up the same way

I remember thinking so many times in 2008 that if McCain had just handled certain things with this kind of class (more than that one throwaway moment with the "OBama's a muslim!" crazylady), he might have turned things around. I really do think the majority of Americans don't buy into the all hate, all the time approach. But another GOP candidate just can't extract himself from the hate and winds up doubling down on it instead of showing the kind of presidential class that we crave.

[hue]

16. Rmoney should be censored!! srlsly!!

[Yellowstone32]

17. Hey mittens here is an idea....

Tell you what. Why don't you send your children, your friends, your family and yourself over there to attack. How about you go and finally do something good for this country. Why don't you and all of your gop buddies go and fight the wars you all are so quickly to create and then come back and talk to me. Then I might actually listen to you

[LiberalLoner]

18. Welcome to DU! Are you a fellow Montanan? Just wondering because of your user name :)

[marble falls]

20. The President is over 50%, this little incident will put the fork into Mitt, and he's done.

[cyberswede]

21. Locking...

I'm afraid this is opinion/analysis, not LBN. Please consider reposting in GD or Politics 2012 - it's a good article!