WASHINGTON, June 1, 2009
Romney Scolds Obama For Apologies Abroad
Likely 2012 GOP Presidential Contender Challenges President's Foreign Policy, Budget Cuts In Speech Monday
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Former Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney speaks to the Texas Republican Party State Convention Friday, June 13, 2008 in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
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Photos Presidential Travels Abroad Photos from President Obama's visits to countries around the world.
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Photo Essay Mitt Romney He turned around companies, and the Olympics and ran for president pledging to turn around the country.
"I take issue with President Obama's recent tour of apology," Romney said. "It's not because America hasn't made mistakes - we have - but because America's mistakes are overwhelmed by what America has meant to the hopes and aspirations of people throughout the world."
Obama has expressed regret while traveling abroad for America's leadership failures and other past conduct.
"This is the time for strength and confidence, not for apologizing to America's critics," Romney said.
Striking a hard line against Obama while speaking to the conservative Heritage Foundation, Romney said Britain's Guardian newspaper wrote that Obama has been more critical of his own country while on foreign soil than any other president in American history.
"The president also claimed on Arabic TV that America has dictated to other nations," Romney said. "No, America has sacrificed to free nations from dictators."
The speech was seen as a bid to enhance his foreign policy credentials among conservative Republicans. Romney has also been campaigning recently on behalf of Republican candidates in states such as Virginia and New Jersey.
Romney took aim at the Obama administration's push for new social spending, saying it could hurt defense programs and endanger America's national security.
"Backing away from missile defense and depleting the defense budget to fund new social programs, particularly in the face of global turmoil, would put America and Americans at risk," he said.
Romney branded Obama's proposal to cut missile defense programs a "grave miscalculation" in light of North Korea's provocations, Iran's near-nuclear status and Pakistan's instability.
Romney said Obama plans to shrink the defense budget every year over the next decade, from 3.8 percent of the economy down to 3 percent. He said the country should be spending more than 4 percent of the economy on defense.
"Arrogant, delusional tyrants can't be stopped by earnest words and furrowed brows," he said. "Action, strong bold action coming from a position of strength and determination, is the only effective deterrent."
Romney also urged Congress to fully fund and deploy a multilayered missile defense shield that he said was vital for the nation's security.
"I know the liberals have opposed missile defense ever since Ronald Reagan came up with it," he said. "But this is too big an issue for ideology or politics to prevail over national security."
Romney said liberals have long complained about too much defense spending.
© MMIX The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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- I doubt very much that people will vote republican again.. They showed their true colors for the last 8 years and more. At least I know I won't.. Can't respect people who don't give respect. Obama was left with a mess. Nothing but fighting on these sights.
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- Posted by the74blaster at 6:05 AM : Jun 2, 2009
I really enjoy your posts, always correct and keep it up. With the REPUBLICANS. ignorance breeds hate, and that is what they have going on now. I hope the people who vote see through their rhetoric, and find out this is how they act under pressure of searching for our vote. Unbelievable. Never saw so much hate spewing from people who want to make this country better, yeah sure, keep it up, and they may have the worst election ever in 2010 - Reply to this comment
- Welcome to The New Party thinking by people like justifiable...there's no room for debate in your life is there? Everybody just must suck up to the Obama propaganda?
Posted by IThoughtItWasFunny
Faux news isn't debate, it's propaganda and hatred that Goebbels would be proud of. - Reply to this comment
- Posted by kansas1946
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obama would apoligized to hitler if given a chance. Afterall, they didn't bombed Pearl Harbor did they!
The libs and barrack should think about apologizing to America . As you say, being able to apologize is one of the best indications of strength.
We know the libs doesn't care about anyone elses views but their own. They knows best, just asked them.........
Posted by ReallyMeanIt at 7:46 PM : Jun 1, 2009
The Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? I would suggest reading a World War II history book before posting again.
However, reading the article shows that Mitt will repeat the mistakes of the past as demonstrated with is hawkish attitude towards foriegn policy. One reason Bushs foriegn policy produced disasterous results is his inability to hold a product dialogue with governments that did not share our position.
An example of this is how the conservatives smeared the French for wanting to let the UN weapons inspectors finish their job and then consider military intervention in Iraq. 6 years and 3 trillion dollars later it is obvoius that Bushs WMD claims were fictional and the French were right.
Yesterday, when i read the article here on CBS news there were some posts actually labeling the French as sissies and even some that stated they deserved it. I find these posts embarrassing and if I was a sitting president, I would apologize and offer my counties condolences to the victims families.
I would hope that the conservative blowhards (aka Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter) would realize that the weak minded take their hate mongering message quite literally, and would start moderating their message in the interest of respecting the rights of others.
After all is this message that an abortion foe would take literally and execute a doctor in the house of god? Basically I see no difference in an abortion foe murdering a doctor or an islamic extreamist flying an jet into the side of the World Trade Center.
I firmly believe that electing another republican president does not served the interests of this nation. Two of the last three GOP presidents have made huge mistakes and all have run up the federal debt to where the margin of error is too small when dealing with economic disasters. - Reply to this comment
- How dare Romney attack the Muslim in Chief in that manner. It may be they will send another member of the muslim community the guy in Little Rock belongs to to settle the score.
A Real American President would be expressing outrage at the attack on these service men. Thanks be to Allah for Obama the UnAmerican President. - Reply to this comment
- I find it interesting that the only place GOP blowhards can get an audience these days is the inaptly named "Heritage Foundation."
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- obama would apoligized to hitler if given a chance. Afterall, they didn't bombed Pearl Harbor did they!
Posted by ReallyMeanIt at 7:46 PM : Jun 1, 2009
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ROFLMAO. Are all Rush PARROTS so stupid? "Ignorant Rush parrot" is a triple redundancy. Who bombed Pearl Harbor, moron?
Being attacked vs. engaging in diplomacy. Let's see. Can you even see a glimpse of the difference? Obviously not . Does trying to fix the mess in foreign policy that Bush the Fooll and the neoCONs left us equate to an inability to deal with aggressors? Only in the simple minded Cheney-licking FAR RIGHT pea brains. Their only answer to EVERY foreign policy challenge is "Bomb, bomb, bomb". Of you love perpetual war and don 't care about REAL SECURITY, then these GOP throwbacks are YOUR PEOPLE. Enjoy living in the LYING GOP PAST full oi wars we did not need and foreign policy based on cowboy movies. The rest of the world, and 80% of Americans have MOVED ON. Thank God. - Reply to this comment
- It's too bad Romney wasn't aborted before birth. Perhaps the right wing will send some religious fanatic to pull a church abortion on Romney like they did in Kansas.
Posted by notmudrosei
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With geniuoses like this, who needs terrorists...................... - Reply to this comment
- Posted by stn_sage
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Who are you to give advice...are you likely to vote for him...thought so...so shut up.
Posted by itsjustathought at 4:33 PM : Jun 1, 2009
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Tsk, tsk, tsk! Are we having a bad day?!
Obviously, you're not very bright, so I'll explain this to you! Most---if not all---candidates like and actually SEEK feedback! Some actually pay for it!
Additionally, not only do you want it from people who support you; but, ESPECIALLY from those who don't! That way---you can find out why---and perhaps alter your message so that they will support you!
If you support Romney, the last thing YOU want to do, is tell others to 'shut up'! Not nice!
YOU will end up costing him votes!
My advice is offered as feedback, it is not forced upon anyone! It can be examined or ignored as wanted! It's value lies in the eyes of the examiner. Often times it is considered good by those with discerning minds; at other times, less so!
After listening to idiots who had nothing important to say for eight years, and could only lie, distort, and obscure reality; it's time for people like you to "shut up", and make room for the
people who can think, discuss, and offer reasonable advice to do just that!
It's people LIKE YOU who have hurt America, it's time to rest your hatred and hostility toward others and try to get along with those you hate, and a godd first step is to stop telling them to "shut up"! - Reply to this comment
- Romney is from the Bill Kristol and Dick Cheney school of foreign policy. Their disreputable mindset got us buried in a disaster in Iraq that drowned our economy. These people "drop bombs first, justify the attack later". These people saw WMD's where there were none . These people insisted al Queda was in bed with Iraq (which Dick Cheney today ADMITTED WAS NOT TRUE).
These people never served (5-deferrment Chency must have spent at least a FEW hours in a military building trying to slither his way out of SERVICE during Vietnam- another war he supported but did not have the guts to serve it). These people are nothing but CHICKENHAWKS who have NO complexity to their thought other than "What shall we bomb <fill in the blank> with?"
These NEO-CONS are useless parasites on the body politic of our great country. They should crawl away and back under that slimy rock from which they emerged. - Reply to this comment
- Oh, shut up Mitt. Our allies deserve an apology for Bush's behavior. There is no weakness in saying "we are sorry." In fact, being able to apologize is one of the best indications of strength. We are not interested in the has-been Republican party criticizing the new administration after their miserable eight years of failure.
Posted by kansas1946
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obama would apoligized to hitler if given a chance. Afterall, they didn't bombed Pearl Harbor did they!
The libs and barrack should think about apologizing to America . As you say, being able to apologize is one of the best indications of strength.
We know the libs doesn't care about anyone elses views but their own. They knows best, just asked them......... - Reply to this comment
- BLAH BLAH BLAH! NOBODY THAT MATTERS, IS LISTENING TO THE REPUGNANTS. HEY MITT: EITHER COME BIG OR STAY AT HOME. YOUR S__T IS WEAK. WE LOVE OUR PRESIDENT NOW AND IN 2012.
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- "The president also claimed on Arabic TV that America has dictated to other nations," Romney said.
That's very true; also, don't forget the huge number of CIA orchestrated coup d'etats in which we often toppled an well liked, freely elected leaders and installed a puppet terrorist thug dictator. Don't forget the natural resource theft for the USA's greater good.
"Backing away from missile defense and depleting the defense budget to fund new social particularly in the face of global turmoil, would put America and Americans at risk," he said. Romney said.
If the bad guys do acquire a nuclear weapon, they are not going to launch it at the US by missile. We would see that and retaliate, and they know that. Instead they might try to sneak the war head in to the US via freight.
Mitt, the United States spends more on defense then the REST OF THE COMBINED WORLD!! If we can not buy safety for 650 million a year, why poor more good money after bad??? Missile defense is spotty at best, even per the missile defense experts.
Mitt and ***** need to stop seeing a boogey man behind every fire hydrant and try diplomacy. - Reply to this comment
- Perhaps Mr Romney might care to explain exactly what he means by " Action, strong bold action". Maybe America should attack North Korea...is this what you think. I thought that George Bush rattled the sabre and tried to bully the world.
A great World War 2 song...."The Yanks are Coming......" Today instead of singing, one thought might be "Go Home Yankee" Honey and vinegar Mr Romney......please learn to use them in the right order. - Reply to this comment
- Yeah - shut up Romney !
Every liberal President should bow and scrape when in the presence of their superiors. - Reply to this comment
- WOW! And Romney is a major contender for the GOP nomination for president in 2012?!
Then they really do suffer from a major lack of acceptable candidates!
Hint- if he truly wants to get elected, I'd advise him to watch both what he says and how he says it! Appearing to be a combination of Geo W. Bush---Geo Wallace---and Elmer Gantry, is NOT going to win many elections for you! He might win a couple states in the deep South, but that will be it! - Reply to this comment
- Oh, shut up Mitt. Our allies deserve an apology for Bush's behavior. There is no weakness in saying "we are sorry." In fact, being able to apologize is one of the best indications of strength. We are not interested in the has-been Republican party criticizing the new administration after their miserable eight years of failure.
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- Like somone should be listening to the GOP or this loser for advise??!!
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