Obama responds: Romney tends to 'shoot first and aim later'
Jeff King
2012/09/13 00:41:01
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http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/12/13833174-obama-... Updated at 5:30 p.m. ET -- President Obama responded today to Mitt Romney's attack on him for his administration's handling of the violence in Egypt and Libya, saying the Republican presidential nominee has "a tendency to shoot first and aim later."
"There's a broader lesson to be learned here, and, you know, Gov. Romney seems to have a tendency to shoot first and aim later," Obama said in an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes. A portion of the interview aired in a CBS Special Report. "As president, one of the things I've learned is you can't do that. It's important for you to make sure that the statements you make are backed up by the facts, and that you thought through the ramifications before you make them. Asked if he thought the statements made by Romney were irresponsible, Obama said, "I'll let the American people judge that."
Romney yesterday criticized the Obama administration for a statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo that he charged was "disgraceful" and sympathized "with those who waged the attacks.” The statement from the embassy did not appear to "sympathize" with attackers, but condemned a fringe video made in the United States that criticized the Prophet Mohammed and was blamed with inflaming radicals in the Middle East who scaled the embassy walls in Cairo and killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other State Department officials. The Cairo embassy statement also came out hours before the attack on the Cairo embassy even took place. Romney today did not back away from his statement, prompting criticism from some in the diplomatic community. Traveling with reporters aboard Air Force One, White House press secretary Jay Carney shared more excerpts of the 60 Minutes interview in which the president suggested Mitt Romney was inappropriately making a campaign issue out of the violence in Libya. According to Carney, the president noted that the original Egyptian Embassy statement, which the Romney camp condemned, “came from folks on the ground who are potentially in danger” and was not meant to defend the attacks but rather to “cool the situation down” with infuriated protesters outside the embassy. “My tendency is to cut folks a little bit of slack when they’re in that circumstance rather than try to question their judgment from the comfort of a campaign office,” the president said. “It appears that Governor Romney didn’t have his facts right,” he continued, according to the transcript. Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki added that while Thursday evening’s rally would be more subdued and that the president would open his remarks with a tribute to the fallen diplomats, it was “still a campaign event.”
Top Opinion
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ant0n1us 2012/09/13 01:44:49Mitt's an idiot
+7Right now there is a crisis in the Mideast. The Prime Minister of Israel (Netanyahu) is threatening to bomb Iran even without consulting President Obama. Can you imagine Romney handling such a delicate situation? This is like the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, which JFK aced. Let's hope Obama has the finesse to keep the peace. Romney would just as soon see another war. It would help Bain Capital. What does he care?
Everyone but you knows this. That's why GOP pundits and strategists are panning Romney's comments. In addition to having his facts wrong, he also attacked a sitting president WHILE AMERICANS WERE BEING ATTACKED. That is simply not done, when Americans are being attacked ANYWHERE in the world, American leadership shows unity to it's foes, not division. That's why no Congressional Republicans condemned Obama in their press releases, they just condemned the violence.
Mitt showed himself for the opportunistic vulture that he is, not a statesman.
Romney mistake #2) He publicly attacked the Commander in Chief of our military while Americans were under attack. THAT made us look weak.
Romney mistake #3) When he was informed the next day that he had misspoken, he doubled down on his criticisms instead of just shutting the hell up.
Since it appears you missed it, here's what was said. Judge for yourself:
The U.S. embassy in Cairo issued 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." This wasn't an apology, it was a position statement, and it was issued BEFORE any violence occurred.
That same day, Romney issued a statement asserting "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." Again, the embassy response came before there were any attacks, and it did not come from the Obama administration.
The next morning, Romney held a press conference to follow up on his initial statement. Amid a flood of questions about his misstatement and whether he had jumped the gun, instead of correcting his previous statement, Romney stood by...
Romney mistake #2) He publicly attacked the Commander in Chief of our military while Americans were under attack. THAT made us look weak.
Romney mistake #3) When he was informed the next day that he had misspoken, he doubled down on his criticisms instead of just shutting the hell up.
Since it appears you missed it, here's what was said. Judge for yourself:
The U.S. embassy in Cairo issued 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." This wasn't an apology, it was a position statement, and it was issued BEFORE any violence occurred.
That same day, Romney issued a statement asserting "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." Again, the embassy response came before there were any attacks, and it did not come from the Obama administration.
The next morning, Romney held a press conference to follow up on his initial statement. Amid a flood of questions about his misstatement and whether he had jumped the gun, instead of correcting his previous statement, Romney stood by his initial criticism stating that "It's never too early for the United States government to condemn attacks on Americans and to defend our values." Romney made false statements to play partisan politics with U.S. foreign policy at the time of an attack, something which no one can remember having been done before.
Romney is being shot down by all the strategists now.
I'm sticking with a proven American leader, President Obama.
"The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims - as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions," the statement began.
Read it and reread it stupid. I'm also sooo sorry that you are one of those idiot BIRTHERS! Obama is an American. Get over it.