←
→

The Foreign Policy Debate Wrap Up

Posted: October 22, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: 2012 elections, 2012 presidential campaign, Foreign Affairs, Live Blog |77 Comments

Is it just me or has Romney just started using his basic stump speech instead of talking foreign policy now?

I think tonight’s Zinger Awards go to Potus.

Obama said that the Republican presidential candidate, by declaring Russia a “geopolitical foe” of the United States, was seeking to return the United States to a long-abandoned Cold War stance.

“The Cold War has been over for 20 years,” said Obama, turning to Romney as they sat at a table before moderator Bob Schieffer. “When it comes to your foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s.”

One of the best zingers was that Romney wants to get tough on China and Iran but he’s not beyond investing in companies that profit from both of them.

The Chinese investment by Mr Romney’s blind trust prompted accusations of hypocrisy from the Obama campaign on Monday, given Mr Romney’s criticism of Barack Obama for not being tough enough on Chinese “cheaters”.

“As he rolls his bus through many Ohio towns that are benefiting from [Obama’s] actions to . . . protect American workers from unfair Chinese trade practices, Mitt Romney will, as they say, have some explaining to do,” said an Obama campaign spokesman.

But Mr Romney’s investment in Cnooc also raises questions about his tough stance against Iran and is further evidence of how the former Bain Capital chief executive’s vast global share holdings have posed a challenge to his bid for the White House.

Last month, Cnooc Limited’s chairman, Wang Yilin, said in a speech that the company’s large-scale deep water rights were a “mobile national territory and a strategic weapon”, a description that highlights the political sensitivity surrounding the company.

Romney says China “steals” our jobs while he’s on the forefront of shipping jobs there.

All Romney can keep saying is that he’ll just do the same things Obama did and Bush did but, hey he’ll do it with gusto or strength or some kind of things you can only do with magic underwear, I guess.

“Gov. Romney, you keep on trying to airbrush history”

77 Comments on “The Foreign Policy Debate Wrap Up”

  1. dakinikat says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:27 pm

    I think Romney lies so much he doesn’t even know what he used to say, has said, or will say … he just contradicted one of his statements in the last debate.

  2. pdgrey says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:28 pm

    Charles P. Pierce ‏@ESQPolitics

    Rob Portman’s already spinning

    • pdgrey says:
      October 22, 2012 at 9:31 pm

      I’m glad i calmed down and got a hold of my self. It was worth reading the best blog on earth. Thanks to every commenter here!

      • NW Luna says:
        October 22, 2012 at 9:38 pm

        I could only stand it becauseof everyone’s comments!

      • Fannie says:
        October 22, 2012 at 10:29 pm

        For a change, I didn’t move except to write notes to myself. Some rare moments like Romney saying we are a nation of Peace, we promote peace, and that is the most important role for America………………………then the band played on.

  3. NW Luna says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:30 pm

    “I think we all love teachers, Governor.”

    Was that a dig at Romney? Heeheehee.

  4. dakinikat says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:31 pm

    Steve Benen ‏@stevebenen
    Romney was for gov’t investing in companies before he was against it http://on.msnbc.com/Tuh94d

  5. NW Luna says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:32 pm

    Romney: “I’m excited about the possibility of becoming president and doing my favorite thing: firing people.”

  6. HT says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:32 pm

    It’s amazing. That Romney smirk – how can he keep it in place for so long?

  7. NW Luna says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:33 pm

    Romney “This nation is the way to heaven, the light, the universe…..”

  8. HT says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:33 pm

    Okay, Romney has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous – how many jobs were lost by his scorched earth policies as a corporate raider? Now he’s selling himself as the saviour of jobs?

    • bostonboomer says:
      October 22, 2012 at 9:37 pm

      The smirk slipped a few times there. I saw him consciously paste it back on. Very interesting.

  9. peggysue22 says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:35 pm

    I think Romney just wrote/spoke his own political obituary. He contradicted himself, said basically the same thing as POTUS on foreign policy [other than I would have done it sooner and been better] and basically lied his face off on former positions. The car industry question is positively unbelievable. Obama’s right. Folks in Detroit have not forgotten.

    I’m not a Barack Obama fan but the man looks brilliant and ten steps ahead in comparison to Mittens.

    If that was a strategy from Mitt Romney? He failed royally.

    • dakinikat says:
      October 22, 2012 at 9:46 pm

      I’m still figuring why Iran can’t get to the sea considering it has a coastline on the Gulf and how it’s going to get to “the sea” through Syria without invading Iraq.

      • dakinikat says:
        October 22, 2012 at 9:55 pm

        I guess my Nebraska public school and university educations taught me to read maps differently. Either that, or Mitt never took any classes having to do with geography or world history or foreign affairs …

      • peggysue22 says:
        October 22, 2012 at 10:29 pm

        Guess Mitts got his wiki info mixed up. I’m sorry that was a lame performance from Romney. Yet the Republicans are trying to spin it for their man. As if we’d all turned off the sound. I understand the polls are already showing a clear win for Obama. It wasn’t even close.

  10. ecocatwoman says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:35 pm

    Romney will lead in an OPEN & HONEST way. Huh? It’s a shame he has campaigned in a hidden/closed way (what about those tax returns a$$hat?) & lied every time he’s opened his mouth. What an f***ing dickhead.

  11. NW Luna says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:36 pm

    IMNSHO, all that Romney family trooping on stage is a great argument for universal coverage of contraception.

    Sorry, but that is my reaction. Trotting out your kids & grandkids as political fodder.

    • HT says:
      October 22, 2012 at 9:40 pm

      Luna, I’d like to say that great minds think alike, but I suspect your mind is a bit quicker than mine. Agree 1000%

  12. HT says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:37 pm

    I am glad that the Obama’s did not bring their daughters out on stage.

  13. pdgrey says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:37 pm

    Charles P. Pierce ‏@ESQPolitics

    The red spinners were in here quickly.

  14. pdgrey says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:38 pm

    Somebody shut up Chris Matthews

  15. bostonboomer says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:38 pm

    Howard Fineman says this was Obama’s best debate performance by far.

  16. ANonOMouse says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:40 pm

    Obama was on topic, congent and explained and defended his positions extremely well. Obama won that debate, hands down.

    Romney spent most of the night doing a modified stump speech. He seemed lost in his own arguments most of the evening and I kept expecting to hear him say “humuna, humuna, humuna”. Damned that man is long on memorized words and short on substance.

  17. pdgrey says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:41 pm

    Are you guys listening to MSNBC! I thought Obama threw down on Romney, I don’t get it.

  18. HT says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:42 pm

    Oh good grief, did anyone listen to the call in portion on c-span. Are American voters really that deluded?

  19. bostonboomer says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:47 pm

    The best part of the debate was when Obama explained to Romney that we don’t build more ships for the Navy for the same reason we don’t fight with horses and bayonets anymore. Times change. Nowadays we have these things called aircraft carriers. That was priceless.

  20. pdgrey says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:52 pm

    ‘Horses And Bayonets’ Gets Largest Twitter Response
    HuffPostPol @ HuffPostPol : From @gov: Peak moment: 105,767 Tweets Per Minute – 9:45pm EDT – Obama: “We also have fewer horses and bayonets” #debates

  21. pdgrey says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:53 pm

    Romney Inconsistent on China Barbs

    Mitt Romney suggested that China is wary about lending the U.S. more money, claiming that the $1 trillion that the U.S. owes to China is making leaders of that country nervous. At the same time, Romney said that China doesn’t play fair with its currency, artificially devaluing the yuan against the U.S. dollar. This currency manipulation makes labor cheaper in China, and encourages American companies to send jobs abroad.

    These two policies, however, are actually the same thing. China devalues its currency by purchasing American debt. When China buys American debt, it creates more demand for U.S. dollars, which results in a higher value for U.S. dollars relative to China’s currency. If Romney labels China a currency manipulator on “Day One,” as he vowed to during tonight’s debate, he will be demanding that China buy less American debt.

  22. JJ Lopez Minkoff says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:54 pm

    Transcript of the Third Presidential Debate in Boca Raton, Fla. – NYTimes.com

  23. HT says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:54 pm

    Well, after all this all I can contribute – if Americans don’t get out and vote (37.8 % of eligible voters cast their vote in 2008), then they are fools and deserve the government that the majority has clearly indicated it doesn’t want. We have the same problem here, so I’m not casting aspersions. People need to know that government impacts everything they do, every tax they pay etc. Just today I was out walking my dog with another chap and we had a discussion about tax cuts. Both of us agreed that it was incredibly stupid to be discussing tax cuts when our education system and health care was under incredible pressure monitarily, and that neither of us wanted anyone in our country to be left behind. I suppose that’s what separates liberals from the pack.

  24. pdgrey says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:55 pm

    @ ariannahuff : Romney has met unemployed people.

  25. bostonboomer says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:55 pm

    CBS snap poll says Obama won big: 53-23.

  26. bostonboomer says:
    October 22, 2012 at 10:06 pm

  27. ecocatwoman says:
    October 22, 2012 at 10:11 pm

    George Pataki is an idiot, IMHO.

    Watching MSNBC – I think the panelists were correct. Romney spent most of the evening agreeing with Obama’s foreign policy. That’s what I saw. I was dumbfounded. I think that Obama should stump on “well, last night Mr. Romney supported my foreign policy. I’m the REAL DEAL, so don’t waste your vote on that version of Romney. Since I’ve been doing everything right, it makes sense to re-elect me.”

    • HT says:
      October 22, 2012 at 10:26 pm

      Three thumbs up – my two and Milly the wonderdogs dewlap. Oh I think Zeke the killer cat agrees, so it’s four thumbs up.

  28. Fannie says:
    October 22, 2012 at 10:30 pm

  29. RalphB says:
    October 22, 2012 at 10:32 pm

    Richard Engel was impressed by Obama. That’s good!

  30. RalphB says:
    October 22, 2012 at 10:44 pm

    Taegan Goddard: Reaction to the Third Presidential Debate

    The third and final presidential debate was President Obama’s best moment in the campaign so far. He was prepared on every issue and knew Mitt Romney’s record of past statements just as well.

    Obama succeeded because he conveyed his unique view of the world from the Oval Office. For undecided voters watching, all they probably heard was that he’s the commander-in-chief. And that’s what Team Obama wanted.

    For the most part, Romney made an effort to look presidential by not attacking. He was exceedingly careful and desperately tried not to make a mistake. In fact, despite his rhetoric for the last two years, he now apparently agrees with most of the Obama administration’s foreign policy.

    As a result, Romney’s biggest opponent was not the president, it was his own words. Obama did a brilliant job of bringing up past Romney statements — on Iraq, on the nation’s biggest adversary, on Afghanistan, on Osama bin Laden — to make him look unprepared for the presidency.

    As the debate went on, Romney tried many times to move the international affairs discussion back to the economy where he was more comfortable. It was as if he had only 30 minutes of foreign policy talking points for a 90 minute debate. As a result he seemed to string together random thoughts which often made him sound incoherent.

    Obama won the debate hands down.

    Bob Schieffer started off doing a good job as moderator, framing questions but still letting the candidates engage each other. But he lost control of the debate as both Romney and Obama often preferred to talk about the economy. It’s clear that both candidates know that most voters don’t care much about foreign policy.

    • bostonboomer says:
      October 22, 2012 at 11:26 pm

      Romney’s responses sounded like word salad much of the time. I had the same feeling that he didn’t have enough material and was just holding on till the end of the 90 minutes.

←
→