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
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
May 1st, 2012
3:52 pm
And of course, since Obozocare passed the Senate as part of a budget bill not subject to filibuster, it will be perfectly legit to repeal it under the same rule.
Darwin
May 1st, 2012
3:53 pm
I agree there are limits to these accolades. And most eyes will be on the economy in November. But if there ever was a party who portrayed the others as weak on defense, it’s the Republicans. It goes to show you that it’s all B.S. The main problem I have with Republicans are there slogans. Apparently, they’re more patriotic, more family values oriented, more religious, stronger on defense, against big government, etc, than everyone else. Just like Fox News is fair and balanced and everyone else is part of the lame stream liberal media. It’s packaged like soap.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
3:54 pm
“An exercising on one’s legal rights can not be abridged.”
HDB, reality says that there are NO absolute rights. Not if your “right” harms another.
Romney = Obama
May 1st, 2012
3:55 pm
It’s the same whether you call it a direct tax or if it’s user based, it’s still revenue colleted by government and its called a TAX. And if Romney is such the “severly conservative” then why was he for abortion rights, and why did he and Anne give to planned parenthood, and why was he for gay marriages (before he was against it all)? Romney may be able to fool some Republicans, but he’s not fooling THIS republican.
Oh, The Stinch of IRONY
May 1st, 2012
3:55 pm
Tiberius
You seem like a intelligent guy on certain levels….
What’s up with all the vitriol and name calling? Come across just like the libs on Bookman’s blog
Peas in a pod…….. crying out how different they are, but in their actions at least while blogging they are closer to each other they will ever know or admit
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
May 1st, 2012
3:57 pm
most eyes will be on the economy in November.
——-
Not if Obozo and the lamestream media have anything to say about it. The last thing they want attention on is the Messiah’s record.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
3:57 pm
Irony, you worry about your posts. I’ll worry about mine. If you don’t like them, don’t read them.
However, some people on this blog only understand the 2×4 method.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
3:59 pm
“Just like Fox News is fair and balanced”
Obviously someone who doesn’t actually watch the “news” portion of Fox News.
Hint: they actually ARE.
Romney = Obama
May 1st, 2012
3:59 pm
@Taipei Personality – I don’t see the Republicans losing the House and I think we have a better than even chance of gaining control of the Senate. But don’t think for one moment if Romney wins and the Democrats control one chamber of Congress that he won’t sell the Conservatives down the river in order to save his Presidency. Romney is already moving back to the left now that the primary is all but over, and he’ll move even further to the left if he wins the WH.
Oh, The Stinch of IRONY
May 1st, 2012
4:01 pm
“Not necessarily. I see a GOP-run Senate treating the filibuster the way it should; budgets and other fiscal matters get through on majority votes only, anything else will take the 60 votes for cloture.”
Unless they change the rules how will a Repub majority of less than 60 stop Dems from what Repubs are doing now?
I see the Dems playing the playing the same games…… unfortunately
Oh, The Stinch of IRONY
May 1st, 2012
4:03 pm
Tiberius
Just asking………
HDB
May 1st, 2012
4:03 pm
Tiberius – Banned from Bookman’s and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
3:52 pm
Tib…not parsing…..when a state LOSES jobs, they’re losing TAXPAYERS…so how can you state that taxpayers are the beneficiaries of Walker’s policies when they are LOSING income to pay taxes?? That’s a LOSS in anyone’s book!!
redneckbluedog
May 1st, 2012
4:04 pm
Please GOP….give us somebody better than Romney to vote for….!!!! Chambliss…..Isaakson…..Either one….!!!!! Both on the same ticket……!!!!
Bob Corker is too stupid…..Lamar Alexander…but he’s about to quit……What about Zell…!?!? Now there’s a fella with a personality….!!!!
Jimmy62
May 1st, 2012
4:06 pm
Can’t wait to hear his 5 year plan.
redneckbluedog
May 1st, 2012
4:07 pm
DON’T DO IT NEWT…!!! DON’T QUIT YET….!!!!
Jefferson
May 1st, 2012
4:09 pm
Nancy and Harry rides again.
redneckbluedog
May 1st, 2012
4:09 pm
I’m sorry about all those bad things I said about you Newt….you pissed me off when you impeached Clinton……and that whole “open marriage” thing was weird…..but I forgive you…Please don’t quit….!!!!!
Interested observer
May 1st, 2012
4:21 pm
Wow, someone’s words distorted during an election campaign. Who would’a thunk it?
redneckbluedog
May 1st, 2012
4:25 pm
I loved Reagan….and I liked Clinton….and the Bushes were good folks…..and this is the best Republicans can come up with……a Yankee Mormon….!?!?!? at least John Kerry was a veteran and a Christian…!!!! 4 more years, I guess….:-P……
independent thinker
May 1st, 2012
4:33 pm
For all you Obozo haters on this blog who want to repeal Obamacare there is currently 1.3 billion dollars in rebates to consumers in the pipeline for excess profits of the insurance companies. What happens if the conservatives get a repeal from the Supreme Court???????? Either way a hell of a lot of voters will be thankful for Obamacare or will be pissed at the GOP. Nice campaign strategy? And Willard says his campaign theme is that Obama is unfair. Tell that to the people who get rebates. I guess it is unfair if your are an insurance executive or shareholder hoping to make money off excess premiums.
redneckbluedog
May 1st, 2012
4:34 pm
Come to think of it….so is Al Gore…..so is Max Cleland….and slow, steady economic growth is really more conservative than a risky tax-cut scheme that has not been proven to neither reduce deficits nor create growth and jobs…….
DEMOCRATS ARE NOW MORE CONSERVATIVE THAN REPUBLICANS….!!!!!
@@
May 1st, 2012
4:36 pm
Let me take this moment to point out…
jay is beneath me.
SCHNIRT!
Ayn Rand was right
May 1st, 2012
4:36 pm
R=O
There are very few Republican’s left in this world. As a Libertarian, I am happy to be able to vote for someone pro-life and pro gay marriage. Personal business is personal. It’s a good day when the likes of Rick Santorum cannot gain footing in the political world.
man behind the curtain
May 1st, 2012
4:40 pm
I’m shocked, shocked I tell you that politicians engage in distortion of their opponents words. You mean kinda like the 24/7 lies and distortions of the right since day one of Obama’s presidency?
Pay No Attention To the Man On the Record - The Flip Flop King
May 1st, 2012
4:41 pm
@Tiberius – Banned from Bookman’s and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
3:44 pm
“PRESIDENT OBAMA MAKES SURPRISE TRIP TO AFGHANISTAN”
Hopefully scoping out retirement properties to enjoy beginning in January of 2013.
***********************************************************************************************************
HOPE in one hand and you know what in the other.
See which one comes true first.
OBAMA GOT THIS.
“Behind every successful person lies a pack of haters.”
GT
May 1st, 2012
4:44 pm
Democrats didn’t ask Romney what his decision would have been in Obama’s shoes,yesterday ,it was the press. And Mitt’s reply was something like “of course” he would have given the order to kill Osama bin Laden, as President Barack Obama did a year ago. And then added even Jimmy Carter would have got that one straight. The press had asked Romney the question knowing he had to flip flop to give the right answer. Romney threw in Jimmy Carter for cover. You can never be wrong taken shots at poor old Carter, attacks as the Republicans call this kind of talk. What Romney was saying in code was any dumb ass could have done what Obama did a year ago, yet they stood indignant as Obama rightfully defended himself with a factual argument. The content of what Romney says things is obviously important to Romney, that is the reason he changes his statements every time he opens his mouth.
Lynn
May 1st, 2012
4:46 pm
The new women’s movement is going to make sure we don’t go “BACKWARDS”. Republicans all over this county need to dump their plans to humiliate women with the likes of new regulations/requirements that include vaginal ultrasounds and destroying Planned Parenthood.
Oh, The Stinch of IRONY
May 1st, 2012
4:47 pm
Ayn Rand
If you do not mind me asking, who did you vote for in the last 3 or 4 Presidential elections?
Pay No Attention To the Man On the Record - The Flip Flop King
May 1st, 2012
4:48 pm
@GT
May 1st, 2012
4:44 pm
Democrats didn’t ask Romney what his decision would have been in Obama’s shoes,yesterday ,it was the press. And Mitt’s reply was something like “of course” he would have given the order to kill Osama bin Laden, as President Barack Obama did a year ago.
What Romney was saying in code was any dumb ass could have done what Obama did a year ago, yet they stood indignant as Obama rightfully defended himself with a factual argument. **********************************************************************************************
Any dumb ass?
NOPE not true.
George Dubya could not and did not.
Pay No Attention To the Man On the Record - The Flip Flop King
May 1st, 2012
4:50 pm
@Lynn
May 1st, 2012
4:46 pm
Republicans all over this county need to dump their plans to humiliate women with the likes of new regulations/requirements that include vaginal ultrasounds and destroying Planned Parenthood.
**************************************************************************
ITS TOO LATE.
You can’t put the sh*t back into the horse.
JKL2
May 1st, 2012
4:51 pm
HDB- “Failure to restore voting rights could have a disproportionate impact on the African American community, as Mr. Santorum noted during the exchange.
We all know that’s BS. They have to have an ID to get their foodstamps.
Road Scholar
May 1st, 2012
4:52 pm
Ti: I was going to tell you that they need you over at Bookman’s to keep them on topic but I see that you have stepped in it and can’t get the stink off your shoes regarding Bookman’s Blog! Did you have to stand in the corner too!
Regarding your rant about the use of the word “Republicans” More than one idea (amazingly) and more than one Republican had those ideas , thus the word Republicans! I will not poll you or others if they are TRUE CONSERVATVES or REPUBLICANS.
In the future I promise to be good and differentiate the Republican Party as a whole by using just that…the Republican Party…or the Republican leadership (some of which had these alleged ideas, but at times the rank and file did not share their views), or the Conservative, overbearing, lacking humor dipshiats, if you’d prefer that as an alternative!
Good night!
Osama Died, The GOP Cried (boo hoo hoo)
May 1st, 2012
4:54 pm
GM IS ALIVE
OSAMA IS DEAD.
OBAMA IS IN AFGHANISTAN.
YA’ll CAN’T TOUCH THIS.
Alabama Patriot
May 1st, 2012
4:55 pm
Progressive Humanist
May 1st, 2012
7:25 am
Vote Romney: Back to the Future (2001)
Back to cheap gas, 4.2% employment, 3.5% GDP. Yeah, I can see what a good, card-carrying “progressive” would not want that.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
4:58 pm
“Unless they change the rules how will a Repub majority of less than 60 stop Dems from what Repubs are doing now? ”
Irony, they don’t have to change any rules; they just have to follow them explicitly. The GOP has no power to stop Harry Reid from requiring 60 votes on any bill. If the GOP becomes the majority, the Senate President, along with the Parliamentarian, can rule that a simple majority is all that is needed for budgetary and fiscal bills, which is what the original intention of the filibuster was for.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
5:03 pm
“What happens if the conservatives get a repeal from the Supreme Court????????”
Before or after the massive nationwide celebration?
GT
May 1st, 2012
5:06 pm
Republicans couldn’t draw one woman to testify before its committee on a woman’s health issue. The Democrats bring a lady to the hearing and the Republican voice calls her a slut on national radio. This should be a 9/11 moment in the lives of women, a day they should never forget. And this is what they call forward?
Sometime this summer these Republicans plan to introduce a immigration bill to Congress. They have the token Marco Rubio introducing the bill as a sign of loyalty to the Latino people by the GOP. They are doing this because they have done so much damage to their relationship with the Latino vote by their red meat debates, they now hope to mitigate the damage. Like a husband that hits his wife and then says he is sorry, these guys operate in the same vain. Their act of bigotry is only a needed vote or favor to a lobbyist away, don’t give them the opportunity to bully you any longer.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
5:06 pm
redneckbluedog, get two things straight.
First, you’re a religious bigot.
Two, you’re getting Romney. Deal with it, or don’t. There will be no brokered convention, no change in nominee. No knight in shining, Christian armor to save you from yourself.
Those are the facts, and they are not in dispute.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
5:11 pm
“Republicans couldn’t draw one woman to testify before its committee on a woman’s health issue.”
Not true. They just didn’t want to create a circus like the Democrats on the committee wanted to.
“The Democrats bring a lady to the hearing and the Republican voice calls her a slut on national radio.”
Not true. There was no hearing. The minority can’t hold a hearing without a quorum and a chairman. That was a show, a stunt – nothing more. And while I wouldn’t call her a slut, the more accurate word I’d use for her is liar. Which is why she fits in so well with your party, GT.
Just saying..
May 1st, 2012
5:13 pm
Jack
May 1st, 2012
7:02 am: When I think about bin Laden, I always wonder why they dumped him in the ocean before his carcass was examined by U.S. authorities. Or maybe they did, but there was very little news about what happened between his being shot and dumped in the water.
It’s another Euro-centric, socialist/marxist/lugo tribe conspiracy.
But you are free to wait on bin Laden’s reappearance as long as you want.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
May 1st, 2012
5:14 pm
independent thinker: For all you Obozo haters on this blog who want to repeal Obamacare there is currently 1.3 billion dollars in rebates to consumers in the pipeline
————————–
This is what passes for “thinking” in Democrat circles…go a trillion dollars in debt in order to get those precious $1.3 billion in rebates. Democrats are so stupid and ate up with hatred for health insurers that they would accept such a bargain.
Pure brilliance.
The Fresh Prince of Bill Ayers
May 1st, 2012
5:14 pm
Lynn
May 1st, 2012
4:46 pm
The new women’s movement is going to make sure we don’t go “BACKWARDS”. Republicans all over this county need to dump their plans to humiliate women with the likes of new regulations/requirements that include vaginal ultrasounds and destroying Planned Parenthood.
Hmm let’s see, if you need a doctor for your woman problem go to a doctor. If you need an abortion, go to an abortion clinic. If you need free contraception, either quit buying starbucks and pay for it yourself, or go to planned parenthood. If you need a ride to the voting boot come election time, call Mr. Magoo. 1-800-Mrm-Agoo
The Fresh Prince of Bill Ayers
May 1st, 2012
5:18 pm
Osama Died, The GOP Cried (boo hoo hoo)
May 1st, 2012
4:54 pm
GM IS ALIVE
OSAMA IS DEAD.
OBAMA IS IN AFGHANISTAN.
YA’ll CAN’T TOUCH THIS.
I’m sure he’s there picking some poppies while the first lady is pi$$ing away tax dollars on a family vacation to Mars with her personal chef, bartender,etc. You know, exploring their roots…
Rage
May 1st, 2012
5:19 pm
“Which is why she fits in so well with your party, GT”
Only Democrats lie?
Rage
May 1st, 2012
5:20 pm
“You know, exploring their roots…”
Details please
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
5:23 pm
“Only Democrats lie?”
No, they just lie exponentially more often due to their policies typically being bereft of facts and logic.
The Fresh Prince of Bill Ayers
May 1st, 2012
5:28 pm
Here’s the Dem poster rat telling a whopper!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ex-cia-counterterror-chief-pelosi-lied-about-waterboarding/2012/04/30/gIQAQFGtrT_story.html
Libs have no standards,when it comes to their degenerates.
Rage
May 1st, 2012
5:29 pm
“No, they just lie exponentially more often due to their policies typically being bereft of facts and logic.”
Could you please expand on that……. I’m one to think that people are liars isn’t from them being a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, etc. An individual’s propensity to lie, tell half truths or the whole truth comes from within.
One’s personal responsibilities and ethics, at least for people I have known, do not have anything to do with political affiliation or lack there of……… maybe in your experience that has been different……….
it is a big world out there and I surely wouldn’t say my experiences speak for any aggregate of any demographic; political or otherwise
The Fresh Prince of Bill Ayers
May 1st, 2012
5:29 pm
Rage
May 1st, 2012
5:20 pm
“You know, exploring their roots…”
Details please
First tip, lock up your dog, there’s some Kenyan seasoning and a spit waiting on it. Unless they like TarTar
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
May 1st, 2012
5:31 pm
“Stuff” No One Says:
Wow, Obozo’s budget is really going to get us back to fiscal stability!