2012 Tuesday: Team Obama moves ‘Forward’ by dredging up, distorting Romney’s words from 2007
On Monday, the Obama-Biden 2012 campaign unveiled its slogan: “Forward.”
Yep, that’s it. As Washington Post humor-blogger Alexandra Petri observed, “If your slogan is just one or two notches above BCC, it might not be a great slogan.”
But never mind the lack of zip to the latest and greatest in Democratic bumper-sticker philosophy, or the fact that it won’t help the arguments that President Obama isn’t a Marxist. The most disqualifying thing about “Forward” as a slogan is that this is a president who keeps looking backward. Heck, even the video unveiling “Forward” as a slogan began with a retrospective on the 2008 financial crisis; the very first words of the video titled “Forward” are “January 2008.” I’m not sure that word means what the Obama team thinks it does.
In other forward-looking news, Democrats are using today’s anniversary of the Navy SEALs’ killing of Osama bin Laden last year to revisit some comments Mitt Romney made five years ago. (Forward! Forward!)
According to this new narrative about old words, in August 2007 Romney “ruled out” a mission for U.S. troops to enter Pakistan and kill bin Laden. Never mind that Hillary Clinton, who ultimately sat in the room with Obama as the raid was carried out, and John McCain, whom Democrats derided as a trigger-happy cowboy (”Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran”), both voiced misgivings about the public pledge Obama made then to strike within Pakistan, with or without the Pakistani government’s approval.
As it happens, two days after making the remarks Democrats are now highlighting, Romney was asked during a GOP debate in Iowa to explain what he meant. Here’s how he answered (the relevant question is asked at the 3:10 mark and Romney, after waiting for Rudy Giuliani to answer, begins speaking around the 4:50 mark):
In case you didn’t watch, here’s the gist of what Romney said:
It’s wrong for a person running for the president of the United States to get on TV and say we’re going to go into your country unilaterally. Of course America always maintains our option to do whatever we think is in the best interest of America. But we don’t go out and say, “Ladies and gentleman of Germany, if ever there was a problem in your country [and] we didn’t think you were doing the right thing, we reserve the right to come in and get them out.” We don’t say those things, we keep our options quiet.
We do not go out and say to a nation which is working with us, where we’ve collaborated, and they are our friend, and we’re trying to support Musharraf and strengthen him and his nation, that instead that we intend to go in there and potentially bring out a unilateral attack.
Now, whatever one thought of Pervez Musharraf’s government in 2007, it is nigh-impossible to argue that Romney’s warning against undermining potential allies by talking publicly about carrying out attacks on their soil is the same thing as saying “he wouldn’t do such a thing.”
As I wrote last year, Obama deserves credit for ordering the raid and seeing that the team conducting it had the necessary support and resources. But he has officially strayed from “not spiking the ball” — at the very least, he’s moved on to “the other guy wouldn’t have had a ball to spike.”
Forward!
Riiiight.
(H/t: Hot Air)
– By Kyle Wingfield
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331 comments Add your comment
@@
May 1st, 2012
1:09 pm
Too Busy for A Summer Job? Why America’s Youth Lacks Basic Work Skills
Many young adults have no clue how to function at the bottom of a hierarchy.
It’s that sense of entitlement thingy.
HECK! Obama thinks 25 year olds are still children.
Many of these social changes are a sign of a healthy, and upwardly mobile, society. But there’s a problem when more than 50% of the nation’s young workforce has never held a basic, paying job. We may be postponing their entry into adulthood. One paradox of contemporary life is that the lengthening of adolescence has not better prepared young people for what comes next. Despite unprecedented technological and cultural sophistication, this generation’s 20-year-olds lack some of the ‘soft’ skills that are necessary to move up the professional ladder: perseverance, humility, flexibility and commitment.
Moving FORWARD with Obama’s 25 year old children doesn’t hold promise.
Jefferson
May 1st, 2012
1:10 pm
Why doesn’t Romney get President Bush to help him with his run ?
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
1:10 pm
Romney = Obama, Rick Santorum is about as authentic as a three-dollar bill. Except on social issues. He truly believes his prehistoric notions of sex and birth control. The rest is pure hokum.
And you shouldn’t believe we are both Republicans, because I am not.
However, when given the actual choice between Romney and Obama (and Romney was my second choice – I supported Herman Cain), I’ll take Romney every day and twice on Sunday. In an election this close in the polls, ANY defection to a third party by Republicans will virtually assure the re-election of one of the worst people to ever occupy the Oval Office.
If you and others do that, and the exit polls show you were responsible, the religious right wing of the Republican party will cease to exist, and you’ll ensure a permanent Democrat majority for decades to come. Narrow-minded partisanship is usually the province of the liberal mind. Sad to see it has infected the religious right as well.
DannyX
May 1st, 2012
1:13 pm
Dow hits forward high!
Whoops, I meant four year high.
Manufacturing shows solid gains in April. The UK had no good news to report , their austerity lead to another decline in manufacturing.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
1:14 pm
“Romney’s claim now that he would have made the same decision as Obama has a value of exactly zero.’
And if he had just spoken about this during THIS campaign you might have attained that rare level for you, MarkV – that of being right.
However, it is NOT ONLY his claim now, but his stance and policy during the last campaign as well, as proven by ENTIRE QUOTES made at that time.
Leaving you in your usual realm – that of being wrong.
Oh, The Stinch of IRONY
May 1st, 2012
1:16 pm
“Narrow-minded partisanship is usually the province of the liberal mind.”
Based on many of your posts; can one deduct that you are liberal and narrow-minded?
You are as partisan as they come; right, center, left, etc, etc
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
1:16 pm
“Why doesn’t Romney get President Bush to help him with his run ?”
For the same reason the current Liar-in-Chief doesn’t use Jimmy Carter, Jefferson. The difference is that Bush prefers to remain quiet and dignified, while Carter just cannot.
Oh, The Stinch of IRONY
May 1st, 2012
1:20 pm
“The difference is that Bush prefers to remain quiet and dignified, while Carter just cannot.”
Translation: Bush left office with one of the worst approval ratings of all time
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
1:20 pm
Irony, you might wish to review the hundreds of posts I have made on every subject, including the ones supporting gay marriage, abortion rights, DADT and against the idiots known as birthers, the war on drugs and the silly attempts by social conservatives to legislate morality.
But that would require you to READ and UNDERSTAND; both concepts a bit too deep for you apparently.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
1:21 pm
Actual Translation: Bush AND CARTER left office with some of the worst approval ratings of all time
Oh, The Stinch of IRONY
May 1st, 2012
1:24 pm
“Irony, you might wish to review the hundreds of posts I have made on every subject, including the ones supporting gay marriage, abortion rights, DADT and against the idiots known as birthers, the war on drugs and the silly attempts by social conservatives to legislate morality.”
That in itself basically says you are not a social conservative and do not believe in wacky theories, it doesn’t in itself translate into your not being “narrow-minded” for the political / economic ideology that you do adhere too
Oh, The Stinch of IRONY
May 1st, 2012
1:26 pm
“Actual Translation: Bush AND CARTER left office with some of the worst approval ratings of all time”
True that
@@
May 1st, 2012
1:28 pm
Tiberius is more Libertarian than Republican. Maybe a Conservative Libertarian?
I didn’t know Karzai and Obama were working towards maintaining long-term military bases in Afghanistan.
A separate security agreement will likely address this issue and deal with questions about what activities will be permitted at any US bases that remain after 2014.
If Afghans give the go-ahead to long-term US bases, politicians have said they will expect American forces to protect Afghanistan if it is attacked. This provision could provide a loophole, wherein US drone operations flown out of Afghanistan over Pakistan and Iran, or raids like the one that killed bin Laden are technically listed as in the interest of Afghan security.
I guess that’s one way of putting it. The more things CHANGE, the more they remain the same.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
1:30 pm
“it doesn’t in itself translate into your not being “narrow-minded” for the political / economic ideology that you do adhere too”
And what exact “political / economic ideology” do I adhere to, Irony?
On cannot be “narrow-minded” if one does not adhere to a fixed ideology.
TRUTH
May 1st, 2012
1:30 pm
Kyle, grasping at straws again. ROLL THE DADBLASTED TAPE!!! I think this is a case of ReCrazyican Revisionist history. He DID SAY these things. Even crazier, the GOP called Mitt a FLIP-FLOPPER!!! The GOP, Kyle! So now his words OUTTAHISMOUTH (ode to Chris Tucker, ala Rush Hour), is being distorted….wow.
Y’all don’t take this butt-kicking personally y’all are about to receive…. The American electorate will again reject these bogus claims.
Sheesh…..
@@
May 1st, 2012
1:30 pm
Oops!
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2012/0501/What-the-death-of-Osama-bin-Laden-means-for-Afghanistan
@@
May 1st, 2012
1:35 pm
WE’VE GOT A FLOATER @ 1:30!!!
Is that you, TOID???
Romney = Obama
May 1st, 2012
1:42 pm
I’d honestly rather Romney lose to Obama in November and give our party a fighting chance in 2016 to get a true CONSERVATIVE in office than suffer thru 4 or 8 years of the RINO that Mitt Romney is. Romney isn’t a severly conservative, he’s a severly fake republican! If we Conservatives don’t stand up for what we believe in now, then how do we expect the rest of the country to believe in our principles of fiscal responsibility and small, less intrusive government. Romney is wrong for our party, wrong for our party principles and ultimately wrong for our country. I know I’m not the only conservative that feels that way.
@@
May 1st, 2012
1:47 pm
Oops! I have a post @ 1:30 too.
Self-defecating humor?
(ISH)
@@
May 1st, 2012
1:48 pm
R=O:
Aside from Santorum, whom would you suggest?
Just curious.
Don Abernethy
May 1st, 2012
1:54 pm
Never depend on what politicians say keep your focus on what they do. You can not depend on what Obama or Romney say. Most never make good on what they say. Talk is cheap. Action speaks louder than words.
lil' willard squarepants
May 1st, 2012
1:55 pm
mummy warm my milk
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
May 1st, 2012
1:56 pm
If we Conservatives don’t stand up for what we believe in now, then how do we expect the rest of the country to believe in our principles of fiscal responsibility and small, less intrusive government.
You can stand up for it 24-7-365, but roughly 1/2 the country isn’t going to believe your conservative shinola – we won’t swallow that Kool-aide without being forced at gunpoint.
@@
May 1st, 2012
1:57 pm
And then there are the democratic spongepants.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
May 1st, 2012
1:58 pm
focus on what they do. You can not depend on what Obama or Romney say.
Like BHO having OBL killed and also saying he isn’t going to throw a party about it?
Romney = Obama
May 1st, 2012
2:02 pm
@@ at this point it’s ABR – Anyone BUT Romney. But seriously, chances are I’ll probably be voting for a third party, I’m just not sure yet who it will be.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
2:05 pm
Yet you supported Santorum, Romney=Obama, even though when it came time for him to stand up and actually be a fiscal conservative when it mattered, he went along to get along.
And thanks for ignoring the Supreme Court nominee thing, Romney=Obama. If Obama wins in November, he’ll pack the court with more young liberals who will serve for DECADES.
But way to think small-ball, Romney=Obama. It’s exactly what the Democrats are hoping you will do. How does it feel to be their puppet?
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
May 1st, 2012
2:07 pm
ohoh, Romney=Obama, you’re not drinking the kool-aid. Better get in line or Tiberius will have to show you just how much more intellectually qualified he is at any subject.
Stand back…
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
May 1st, 2012
2:08 pm
Why have some of the nation’s most vehement anti-gay activists—Ted Haggard, Larry Craig—had gay sex scandals of their own? An op-ed in the New York Times’ Sunday Review section tries to explain. The authors of the piece, two research psychologists, say they have “empirical evidence that homophobia can result, at least in part, from the suppression of same-sex desire.” Their argument—summed up in the Times headline as “Homophobic? Maybe You’re Gay”—promises to resolve a long-running debate in the field. For at least 15 years, scientists have been trying to use objective laboratory measures to prove the he-who-smelt-it-dealt-it theory of human sexuality.
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/04/homophobic_maybe_you_re_gay_the_new_york_times_on_a_new_study_of_secret_sexuality_.html
Ayn Rand was right
May 1st, 2012
2:08 pm
Tiberius…Romney=Obama is obviously already a puppet to the religious right.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
May 1st, 2012
2:09 pm
the he-who-smelt-it-dealt-it theory of human sexuality.
You have to admit, that is funny!
@@
May 1st, 2012
2:13 pm
R=O:
Gary Johnson? I checked him out early on. He’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I can see him getting a lot of registered democrats to vote for him. Even he predicts he’ll pull from their rank and file.
Q. Assuming you don’t win, whom do you think your candidacy will hurt the most?
A. You should vote for who you think is really going to best represent you and what you think. I’ve always believed that, so this isn’t a step out from that. Probably, it’s going to end up helping Romney. I’m probably going to take more Democrat votes — the whole civil liberties side of this. And I couple the civil liberties with, I think, the majority of Democrats — the majority of registered Democrats, not politicians, but just Democrats as a whole — understanding that monetarily, what we are doing is not sustainable.
Feel free, R=O.
The Fresh Prince of Bill Ayers
May 1st, 2012
2:14 pm
Tiberius, you may can get back in to Bookman’s using an Ip spoofer. I am on permanent moderation which is as good as a ban from my work, but can post from other locations.
Pay No Attention To the Man On the Record - The Flip Flop King
May 1st, 2012
2:14 pm
I hope to stand firm enough to not go backward, and yet not go forward fast enough to wreck the country’s cause.
Abraham Lincoln
Romney = Obama
May 1st, 2012
2:17 pm
@ Tiberius – While I think the Supreme Court is essential to our country, I think its more important who we have putting forth policy (President) and laws (Congress). And as a Conservative I think the current crop of Justices need to retire, who in their right mind thinks that the Citizens United case was good for our country? It corrupts our democracy to let corporations, including foreign corporations, influence our elections. The proliferation of Super-Pacs dilute our one person – one vote way of life. Who do you think will influence a politician more – voters in his or her district or a corporation who donates TEN MILLION DOLLARS to a Super Pac set up in support of that politician. Come on Tiberius! Our Founding Fathers are turning over in their graves over this corruption of our political system. My vote and YOUR VOTE means less because of this decision from the CONSERVATIVES who currently sit on the Supreme Court. It’s time all of us Conservatives be honest and speak out against this wrong and the harm its bring to our country.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
2:20 pm
Fresh Prince, I have no desire to head back over to the Children’s Table. Although I wish josef and Brosephus would head over here more often to converse. They are two of just a few who actually look at alternative views based on the facts provided.
Pay No Attention To the Man On the Record - The Flip Flop King
May 1st, 2012
2:20 pm
@Tiberius – Banned from Bookman’s and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
1:16 pm
“Why doesn’t Romney get President Bush to help him with his run ?”
For the same reason the current Liar-in-Chief doesn’t use Jimmy Carter, Jefferson. The difference is that Bush prefers to remain quiet and dignified, while Carter just cannot.
****************************************************************************
Bush would not touch Mitt Witt with a ten foot pool.
Liar-In-Chief???????
Mitt Witt would not know the TRUTH if it bit him in the rear end.
Mitt Witt is a LIAR’S LIAR.
Mitt Witt is the FLIP FLOP KING.
Mitt Witt wants to be president soooooo bad that he would sell his five sons to get the nomination.
lil' willard squarepants
May 1st, 2012
2:22 pm
mummy when can i hunt varmint and play sport
Jefferson
May 1st, 2012
2:24 pm
Romney needs help, but nobody is there to help. What if it was 3 am in the morning ?
AU Liberal in ATL
May 1st, 2012
2:24 pm
The resident expert on distortion makes accusations. That’s called projecting, Wingnut. Very rich.
What do you call a liar who believes their own lies? Willard with a "Dubya".
May 1st, 2012
2:28 pm
Pathological Liar
A pathological liar is usually defined as someone who lies incessantly to get their way and does so with little concern for others.
Compulsive Liar
A compulsive liar is defined as someone who lies out of habit. Lying is their normal and reflexive way of responding to questions.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
May 1st, 2012
2:29 pm
Perhaps if Cindy Sheenan told obozo to stfu about OBL, then maybe we could move Forward! from this embarrassing episode of self glorification, patting ones self on the back, grandiosity, pompousness, bombastic outburst and overbearing bluster.
The Seals, they obviously do not respect.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
2:32 pm
Sadly, Romney=Obama, I’ve seen more written by alleged Republicans who would like to destroy the 1st Amendment regarding free speech for all, even if we disagree with it, than I have Democrats.
What part of “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech” do you NOT understand? Who are you to pick and choose who may speak?
Oh, and my vote is not diminished one bit, as long as corporations don’t get the right to vote. They may speak all they want. I have no requirement to listen to them.
HDB
May 1st, 2012
2:32 pm
Tiberius – Banned from Bookman’s and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
12:37 pm
Tib…from what I see Republicans doing — from Wisconsin to Ohio to Michigan…..there’s a lot that the GOP is doing…and Romney supports….that’s basically screwing over the public. That’s enough of a point to let many know that what the GOP is doing is raging a “war on democracy”!!
If Romney is supporting it…then we shoudl be against it!!
Lil’ Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
May 1st, 2012
12:57 pm
As professional military men they should smile and remain silent.
———
Too bad your Idiot Messiah won’t take that advice.
LBB…lest you forget, the President, as C-in-C, is the CIVILIAN authority over the military!! As such, he can state whatever he desires as to the military!!
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
2:34 pm
I see that Trashman has been released from his cage at the Yerkes Primate Center a bit earlier than usual today.
Ernest T. Bass
May 1st, 2012
2:35 pm
from this embarrassing episode of self glorification, patting ones self on the back, grandiosity, pompousness, bombastic outburst and overbearing bluster.
Kind of like landing on an aircraft carrier.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
2:37 pm
“from what I see Republicans doing — from Wisconsin to Ohio to Michigan…..there’s a lot that the GOP is doing…and Romney supports….that’s basically screwing over the public.”
OK, HDB, here’s your chance to shine.
Articulate three local laws the GOP is trying to pass in the states you mentioned where Mitt Romney has taken a specific stance in support of them. Oh, and please provide the links to the actual quotes of support for the measures you are citing.
Thanks in advance.
Romney = Obama
May 1st, 2012
2:39 pm
@Tiberius – Where in the United States Constitution does it say that Corporations are people and are entitled to the same rights as you and I? You really do need to start thinking for yourself. And are you not concerned with foreign controlled corporations influencing our elections? If you’re not, then you should be. Our Constitution was set up to protect We People from the abuses of government, it does not mention whatsoever the rights of corporations. When was the last time a corporation took up arms to fight for our rights of freedom? When was the last time a corporation to a bullet for a fellow soldier?
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
2:39 pm
Ernest T. Bass needs to have a lesson on the difference between congratulating others for the benefit of boosting morale, and the meaning of self-congratulation.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
May 1st, 2012
2:45 pm
Kind of like landing on an aircraft carrier.
Well, that mission wasn’t accomplished. This one with OBL was accomplished, wrapped up, etc.