Despite Obama derision, Romney sticks to Navy ships argument

Mitt Romney campaigns at the Pensacola Civic Center in Pensacola, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012. / AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

PENSACOLA, Fla. Undeterred by President Obama's debate zinger that the military has evolved beyond "horses and bayonets," Mitt Romney on Saturday argued that voters shouldn't simply brush off the GOP candidate's argument that the Navy needs more ships.

Romney has argued for months, often before pro-military crowds, that increasing the number of ships is crucial to America's future security. But in one of the most memorable moments of Monday's foreign policy debate, Obama responded that the military no longer relies on "horses and bayonets," just as it doesn't have as many ships as it once did, because "we have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them."

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Romney: "In fact, we do use bayonets" in the Navy

But at a rally in this military-dependent city, Romney said he stands by his assertion that the Navy "is now smaller than anytime in, well, almost a hundred years," exposing a potential future vulnerability.

"A modern Navy is one of the critical elements that allows us to protect sea lanes and to keep the world more free and prosperous," he said. "I believe in a modern Navy, and that's why my plan is to increase the number of ships that we're building to maintain our strong commitment to our military."

Fact-checking organizations have disputed Romney on the ship-number claim. The Annenberg Public Policy Center noted earlier this year that at the time, there were more Navy ships than during the last four years of George W. Bush's presidency. In addition, defense analysts have warned that Romney's call for more ships could lead to cuts in other military branches.

Romney appeared at the Pensacola rally with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and 1st District GOP Rep. Jeff Miller, who blasted Obama's handling of the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

Fox News reported that security officers working for the CIA in Benghazi were twice told to wait before rushing to the compound after the attack. Fox also reported that U.S. officials refused when the security team asked for warplanes, which would have meant violating Libyan airspace. A CIA spokeswoman said in response that the agency acted quickly and said the claim that they were told to wait is untrue.

"America deserves a president that does not divide but unites this country," Miller said. "America deserves a president who understands its military and its weapons. American deserves a president that will not leave a United States ambassador and three others ... Mr. President, the phone rang and you didn't answer it."

Romney also repeated his desire to solve problems in bipartisan fashion, which drew an immediate rebuke from Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith. She repeated Democrats' criticism of Romney's unwillingness to ask for removal of an ad endorsing Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock, whose recent comments on rape have caused a political firestorm.

"The American people shouldn't trust a word Mitt Romney says on his promise of bipartisanship," Smith said. "Over the last six years he's been running for president, he hasn't stood up once to the most extreme voices in the Republican Party - in fact, he catered to them. Just last week, he was even too weak to take down an ad endorsing a right-wing Senate candidate who said it's God's will if a woman gets pregnant as a result of a rape."

At a subsequent Florida rally in Kissimmee with Rubio and Rep. Connie Mack, Romney repeated his disappointment with what he said was his rival's inability to focus on the nation's biggest problems.

"He can't speak to the moments of consequence that this represents," he said. "He's talking about characters on Sesame Street and silly word games, and attacks me ... It's like, you know, there are other ways to go after me - just go after me with the truth, you don't need to make up things. But he makes things up he knows aren't true, and frankly, I think that's in part why his campaign isn't making much progress, is because people recognize this is a critical time."

CBS News' Matthew Shelley contributed to this report.

[Bigheader]

Wow, we need more ships?

A DDG, a ship designed to fight the Soviet Union blue water navy cost 800 billion a copy Good thing we a still building them, according to Mitt the Russians are making a comeback.
An Alamo class LSD cost 600 million a copy. A ship designed to carry marines for amphibious landings. A mission last completed in 1950 with the invasion of Inchon.
A littoral ship, tiny and not very capable cost 300 million.
A nuclear carrier between 6-7 billion a copy. A weapon that may or may not be out dated.
F35 fighter some gobble gunk in the cost speak anywhere between 47-300 million a plane. Despite the fact the F15/16 are still flying everywhere

The strange part is some of the posters are auguring for more of these weapons. Wow

How about a better education system, a better road infrastructure, better medical delivery systems, a reformed tax code .

We need more ships? Ludicrous

[moretruthnow]

President Obama has the knowledge about what the military needs and does not need. Nothing Romney says is reasonable or sensible. Romney is a one percenter for the one percent. He is backed by the Kochs who are polluters and treacherous demonic rich old white men who want no regulations, no oversight, nothing that protects Americans from their encroachment on innocent people.

[chevyhotrod]

Please no more hate racist comments, they don't help your cause.

Your lies will be met with truth and reality.

[pr_boxer]

The President made Romney look foolish, again, on this one. HaHa, try again Mitt, we're not buying your snake oil.

[chevyhotrod]

The President made himself look arrogant and condescending.

Gov. Romney is almost 20 years older than President Obama, to make such a suggesting only make his look foolish.

But to a blind partisan like yourself, you can only see it one way.

[pr_boxer]

Next Mitt will claim the world is flat, Armstrong never visited the moon, and homeless people prefer it that way.

[chevyhotrod]

Moon bat alert.

[tsigili]

The President was dishonest.

Romney knows the truth.

[RollotheNorman]

The President was most certainly NOT dishonest. One modern ballistic missile submarine carries more fire-power than was released by all the belligerents in WWII. Romney and most of his chicken-hawk Dubya retread advisers have never been in the field, and know little or nothing about the modern military. The military is has capabilities and capacities we could only lust after 40 years ago when I was in the field. Maybe, you, Willard and the rest of your chicken-hawk party should make an effort to keep up.

[StewFBBlows]

@Tsigiili Your lying not the Pres. I have never seen an candidate lie or chg their mind as much as Mitt.

[Nova2050]

Romney's attacks are misleading since in fact it was his party, the GOP, that cut US security by cutting embassy security ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/10/jason-chaffetz-embassy_n_1954912.html ). In addition to aircraft carriers, the US also has attack drones. These technologies are what is called force multipliers. We spend money on advanced technology so that we can do more with less. Having excess Navy ships can actually harm US security if funds are expended on operating too many ships rather than advancing force-multiplier technology, whether that technology is aircraft carriers, robotic vehicles (like Predator drones), or other advanced technology weapons.

[DerekMid]

Romney wants mmore ships for poor and middle class young men to use as fighting vessels, yet he wants to call them losers when they fall into the 47% pay bracket. The GOP loves wars and making money for the war profiteering friends, but hate paying servicemen a decent wage or training them when they return from service. They also avoid fighting themselves.

[ongelooflijk-2009]

Okay, We can afford Romney and Ryan (Poor, poor Ryan, he's probably a nice guy, just really bad politics and very, very green behind the ears on FP even as a six term House member---But with that much naivete about Obama's, 'nature of our changed military' / horses and bayonets, analogy regarding our present day capability vs our 1916 fleet's, seems none too bright!) a little, very little sympathy on this one.
The President 'might have' used a slightly better analogy (fixed-bayonets?) but it was obviously clear to any thinking person. Just one of our Nimitz class super-carrier strike groups---of which the US currently has eleven (11), with it's compliment of support ships and lethal air wing could probably devastate the entire 1916 US Navy from 300 miles away in a 24 hour period without so much as a single casualty!
A quote from a very funny and apropos article that was written in the 'conservative' Forbes magazine--OMG--'three weeks ago' regarding Romney's plans for the Navy, titled: I am the Ruler of the Queen's Navy, Says Mitt Romney
"Admiral Romney needs a time-out on the poop deck"
Michael Peck - Forbes Magazine 10-11-12
LOLOLOL!!!!!

[RollotheNorman]

Why does CBS still have this BS thread active?? It's almost as meandering and nonsensical as the Knoller thread on how the debt grew under Obama for four years. That stayed up for 6 months through the diligent efforts of the RepubliCON knuckleheads that are the backbone of the CBS staff.

[RollotheNorman]

LOL, got my threads mixed up, too many windows open.

[Yeshuratnam]

Apart from navy ships, the real danger is Obama's allance with the Muslim Brotherhood. There is another potential danger looming large in the horizon. Obama has authorized joint military exercise with Egypt. After Morsi became president, several alarming changes have taken place. Like Khomeini's Iran, the whole state has been Islamized. A constitution that codifies religious fascism was hurriedly written. Hundreds of convicted terrorists were released, turning Egypt into a haven for jihadist terrorism. The Muslim Brotherhood and its Salafist allies attacked embassies and US interests (KFC, Coco Cola etc.,) in the newly Islamic-dominated Middle East countries. Islamist protesters stormed the U.S. Embassy in Cairo destroyed the American flag, and replaced it with a black Islamist flag similar to the one used byAl-Qaeda — all on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack Obama has also appointed Muslim Brotherhood men in key and sensitive posts. His lavish loan of billions of dollars to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood when America itself is reeling under the heavy burden of loans is a matter for scrutiny. In a fiery speech Morsi said before an enthusiastic crowd that the motto of the Muslim Brotherhood is "The Koran is our constitution. The Prophet Muhammad is our leader. Jihad is our path. And death for the sake of Allah is our most lofty aspiration. In the new geopolitical scenario. Egypt having intimate ties with Beijing and Moscow and with the emergence of a new axis in the Middle East - Tehran-Cairo-Baghdad-Damascus - it is suicidal for America to train Muslim Brotherhood forces in defensive and offensive operations. Another term for Obama will make him to strengthen this alliance with Islamist Egypt which will be a great danger for America and Israel.

[RollotheNorman]

LOL, more neo-con tripe! You notice how the neo's were basically banished from RepubliCON land after 2008? Well they're ba-a-a-aa-aa-ck. Americans, just say no to American boots on the ground in the mid-east. If they Israeli's want war in the region, let them use their own troops.