Romney Evokes Hitler To Depict Perilous Middle East

(CBS)

From CBS News' Scott Conroy:

BOCA RATON, FLA. -- John McCain and Rudy Giuliani may be the GOP candidates best known for their tough talk on national security, but this morning Mitt Romney used one of history's greatest villains to paint a stark picture of just how dangerous the world has become in his view.

Romney said that in the run up to World War II, appeasers believed Hitler's "press releases," which said that he merely wanted to unite German-speaking peoples, rather than eliminate an entire race.

"The consequences of that accommodation of his press releases was devastating to the entire world, and most devastating to millions of Jews," Romney said to about 200 people at a Republican Jewish Coalition of Florida function. "Today we have individuals who believe that the cause of the challenges in the Middle East is the conflict in Israel with the Palestinians, and that if somehow we could just have the Baker-Hamilton Commission imposed and we could just settle things between the Palestinians and the Israelis, why everything would be fine in the Middle East."

Romney went on to ridicule the belief that the land dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians is largely responsible for the root causes of upheaval in the region.

"The idea that somehow boundaries between Israel and the Palestinian authority are what's causing the challenges in the Middle East is patently absurd," Romney said.

As the economy continues to spiral downward, Romney has cultivated an image for himself as a Washington outsider whose fresh ideas come from his years in the private sector. Romney also hopes to extend this image into the realm of foreign policy, as Romney has been highly critical of the State Department bureaucracy.

"We simply cannot go on as a nation kicking the ball down the field," Romney said. "We simply cannot go on with our foreign policy as disjointed and uncoordinated as it is, even within our nation and around the world."

[jrinmp]

I teach Middle Eastern history at a Midwestern university. From what I''ve read of Romney''s comments above, I can safely conclude that the students who''ve completed one of my courses have already forgotten more about Middle Eastern history and politics than Mitt will ever know.

[fatwhitecow]

Your exactly right Mitt. Our State department is a joke. At the Annapolis peace conference did you know they made the Jews enter in a different entrance than the Arabs? Can you imagine our country bowing down to these kind of demands. It is sickening what our country does for oil. How about we just drill in Anwar problem solved. We won''t have to bend over anymore.

[fatwhitecow]

Your exactly right Mitt. Our State department is a joke. At the Annapolis peace conference did you know they made the Jews enter in a different entrance than the Arabs? Can you imagine our country bowing down to these kind of demands. It is sickening what our country does for oil. How about we just drill in Anwar problem solved. We won''t have to bend over anymore.

[fatwhitecow]

Your exactly right Mitt. Our State department is a joke. At the Annapolis peace conference did you know they made the Jews enter in a different entrance than the Arabs? Can you imagine our country bowing down to these kind of demands. It is sickening what our country does for oil. How about we just drill in Anwar problem solved. We won''t have to bend over anymore.

[JedMerrill]

Mitt is right on. Other candidates talk about change, but Mitt has the brains and fresh perspective to bring it. This could be a VERY productive eight years!

[niqueie]

Everytime I hear him talk about issues, I like what I hear. He knows what is going on and he sees the clear picture. His comments are right on!