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Subscribe to RSSAhead of Monday's final presidential debate, a new NBC-WSJ poll shows President Obama and Governor Romney are tied 47 percent to 47 percent among likely voters. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.
BOCA RATON, Fla. -- In a campaign season dominated by discussions of domestic spending, social programs, and the national debt, foreign policy can tend to take a backseat. But in the wake of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the uncertain turmoil of the Arab spring, increased global economic competition from China, and Iran’s quest for a nuclear weapon, the handling of foreign affairs could prove more vital to the nation than any tax cut.
Whether it’s Republican nominee Mitt Romney or President Barack Obama, the next Commander in Chief’s most fateful decisions in the next four years may have to do with foreign challenges.
When the two rivals have their final chance to confront each other Monday night before tens of millions of voters, foreign policy will be the topic and steadiness of leadership will likely be the dominant theme.
Stephanie Cutter, a senior adviser on the Obama campaign, discusses the administration's foreign policy approach and addresses a report in the New York Times that the White House has reached a deal with Iran to engage in nuclear talks.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, Obama strategist David Axelrod laid down a marker on one of the most contentious foreign policy issues, claiming that economic sanctions against Iran are working to pressure the Tehran regime to renounce its nuclear weapons ambitions.
“Today the world is unified against Iran, with us -- all because of the leadership of this president,” Axelrod said. What Axelrod didn't tell viewers is that Iran is still selling oil to India, China, South Korea, Japan and other countries.
In an overall statement on foreign policy, Axelrod added that “people want to know that they have a strong, steady hand in the Oval Office and they don’t want someone who is reckless and who has been consistently wrong on foreign policy issues as Gov. Romney has (been). We all remember his ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ tour of international destinations over the summer” – a reference to Romney’s trip in which among other things he criticized British leaders for their handling of the Olympics.
Recommended: First Thoughts: Presidential race couldn't be tighter - how each one wins
Iran is likely to come up Monday partly because Obama’s national security spokesman Saturday denied a New York Times report that the Obama administration and Iran had "agreed in principle" to bilateral negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
Despite Obama’s success in ordering the mission that killed Osama bin Laden, Romney has assailed the president for his explanations of the killing of U.S. ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and other American personnel in Benghazi, for allegedly distancing himself from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and for going on what Romney calls an “apology tour” of France, Egypt, and other nations in 2009.
Reuters, Getty Images
In the final push in the 2012 presidential election, candidates Mitt Romney and Barack Obama make their last appeals to voters.
But even as Romney calls for assertive use of American influence abroad, he has acknowledged that Americans have grown weary of carrying the burden of their country being an interventionist power. In his speech at the Virginia Military Institute on Oct. 8 Romney said, “I know many Americans are asking whether our country today—with our ailing economy, and our massive debt, and after 11 years at war—is still capable of leading.”
Romney argued America has little choice in the matter: “I believe that if America does not lead, others will—others who do not share our interests and our values—and the world will grow darker, for our friends and for us. …”
When John F. Kennedy in his 1961 inaugural address made the ringing statement that Americans would “pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship” to ensure the survival of freedom in the world, 54 percent of all federal outlays went to the military and to international programs. This year only 20 percent of the budget will go to the military and to international programs.
Overseas spending is being squeezed by the inexorable increase in the number of Baby Boomer retirees collecting ever-more expensive Social Security and Medicare benefits.
Michael Mandelbaum, director of the American Foreign Policy Program at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins, captured the predicament in the title of his book, The Frugal Superpower.
Mandelbaum predicts broad tax increases and curbs in entitlement benefits, no matter what the candidates say. So if Americans will be “paying more to the government and getting less from it, they are unlikely to be particularly generous in funding foreign policy, which means the next presidential term will involve the conduct of foreign policy under unaccustomed fiscal constraints,” Mandelbaum said.
Obama supporters see NATO’s removal of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi with the United States “leading from behind” as one of the president’s successes. Mandelbaum sees cost and American risk aversion as factors in the aftermath of Gaddafi’s removal: “In order to get the full benefits of tyrant removal, it may be necessary to put American troops on the ground and that we’re not going to do.”
Fiscal constraint is also a factor in nuclear arms control, an issue the candidates have scarcely discussed outside the context of Iran.
Former State Department official Steven Pifer who is now director of the Arms Control Initiative at Brookings Institution, the Washington think tank, argued that cost is one reason the next president ought to support a treaty with the Russians to further shrink both countries’ nuclear arsenals.
“In the next several years the U.S. has to make some very expensive decisions about how to modernize the legs of the U.S. strategic triad (bombers, submarine and land-based missiles),” Pifer said. For example, replacing the Trident submarine will cost, according to the Navy, $6 to $7 billion a piece.” An arms reduction treaty with the Russians would mean “you could save a big chunk of money,” said Pifer.
For a Romney administration, he said, “There will be the same budget realities that he’ll face that Obama will face if re-elected. The question becomes: do you spend a lot more money on strategic (nuclear) forces as opposed to those sorts of weapons systems that the military is much more likely to need?” (Disclosure: Pifer contributed $2,000 to Obama’s campaign in 2008.)
Michael O’Hanlon, the director of research for foreign policy at Brookings, said that as he looks at the Obama and Romney foreign policy agendas, “I’m struck by how much they are not that different on most major issues, or (the differences) are smaller than the candidates themselves seem to want to imply. Take, for example, defense spending. President Obama said twice in previous debates there’s a $2 trillion difference in the ten-year spending proposals of Obama and Romney. I don’t read it that way, but Romney has let him get away with that contention. They want to exaggerate their differences.”
But on relations with Russia and on nuclear arms control, O’Hanlon said, Romney has “been fairly striking and stark” in his differences with Obama.
A composite image of President Barack Obama, left, and Rep. presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
David Gordon, the former State Department director of policy planning who is now the head of research at Eurasia Group in Washington, said the biggest difference between Obama and Romney on foreign policy “is that Romney sees in rising unconventional U.S. energy sources not just an implication for the U.S. economy, but I think he would more aggressively use this to regain some of the leverage that is lost by fiscal constraints on the United States. For example, I think Romney would be much more assertive in promoting LNG (liquefied natural gas) exports to Japan” and in return expect the Japanese to join the Transpacific Partnership, the trade agreement Obama and Pacific Rim leaders have been working on.
Despite what viewers might hear from the candidates Monday night in their attempts to contrast their views, Mandelbaum noted that continuity is the rule once elections are over.
Changes in foreign policy when a new president moves into the White House “are always less than indicated by campaigns because campaigns exaggerate for effect. So the Obama foreign policy is much closer to the George W. Bush foreign policy than Obama gave the electorate reason to believe in 2008. And I suspect that would be true of a Romney foreign policy.”
He added “American foreign policy depends more on what happens in the world than on what candidates say in order to get elected.”
Leave a Comment:
Mitt.........."Trust me, trust me".
That's what they all say.
Libya - Obama
"Trust me, trust me"
Not much for originality are you Duminnj? :)
To this day, 0bama is still lying to us about Libya. A rank amateur.
Romney was right to criticize the US embassy in Egypt for apologizing for our first amendment.
It's pretty simple folks. If you want Bush III vote for Mitt. Most of his staff and advisors are the same people who brought you such successes like the Iraq War and the Banking Crisis. :)
If you want to continue to improve, which we are, then vote for Obama.
Its pretty simple folks, if you want a socialist government controlled society then vote for obama, Vladameer Putin of Russia, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and the Castros of Cuba are rooting for obama. They along with obama want to see America destroyed.
Vote for Romney/Ryan
Or if you want Carter II, (vomit) vote for Oblama.
If you want to continue to move toward socialism, vote Obama.
So you're back after being banned last week I see. :)
What's the definition of "Socialism"? BTW it's capital S.
"We are going to talk to Iran one-on-one".
Duuuuuh.
Yep, "our" Foreign policy and leaks to the Liberal media is working out well.
Everything about the Obama foreign policy has been an utter failure. Iran is closer to obtaining nuclear weapons, Iraq is now Iran friendly, Libya is a terrorist nation, Egypt not considered an ally, and Israel has been tossed under the bus. Obama has written the presidential playbook for how to screw up the middle east. Of course Obama will spike the football again over Bin Laden, a situation where Obama's total involvement was to say go get him. Something any president would have done.
Banned, Jeff. Not I. Back after working all week. You and the Oblama crowd should try it sometime.
Yeah you were. I know. :)
Jeff, just like every lib, don't let facts get in your way.
No comment on the work????? What could that possibly mean?
Romney is in the lead to stay, despite all the lying and cheating Obama is doing right now. Obama even had to borrow $15M from Bank of America last week for his campaign. He is going south quickly! Once again, tonight Mitt will prove he is our man! Romney/Ryan 2012!
Except the polls that show Obama in the lead. Ohio for example. :)
Defense budget should be cut to pre-9/11 level. That is full 50% of the current INSANELY WASTEFUL level.
Hopefully, the debate on foreign policy will make it clear which man is the better choice to lead our nation in this crucial issue. While the country's economy is slowing recovery from the big blow it took during the Bush/Cheney Administration, it is of utmost importance that we have a Commander in Chief who has proven he can deal with all the volatile Middle East crises with a level head.
Mitt Romney's rush to politicize and make accusations after Ambassador Stevens' death was an ominous sign that he would not be one to deal with the very serious state of foreign affairs.
Also, when he insulted our closest ally, England, criticizing how they ran a poor Olympics, that was embarrassing and potentially damaging. I imagine the British just brushed it off as political bravado, but it was still uncalled for and impolite if nothing else.
History has shown that Republicans have a love of Money and a love of War.
If any of you undecided voters are of eligible age to go to war, or have children who are eligible to go to war, please consider this before you go to the polls.
Would it be damaging to know that the President/administration met with radical islamisists in the White House:
http://www.investigativeproject.org/3777/a-red-carpet-for-radicals-at-the-white-house
I'm just saying that when it comes to creating foreign policy that administrations usually talk a lot to our allies and groups of interest in those regions. We know that the President has a good friend in the leader of Turkey too (check him out- not really pro-west). Does this mean that we are interested in developing a different relationship with Islamic states around the world? What did the President mean when he told Medvided that he'd have more flexibility with Russia if re-elected?
JoeNY,
Your paranoia is showing.
Forbes: For A Better Economy, Vote Democratic:
• Personal disposable income has grown nearly 6 times more under Democratic presidents
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown 7 times more under Democratic presidents
• Corporate profits have grown over 16% more per year under Democratic presidents (they actually declined under Republicans by an average of 4.53%/year)
• Average annual compound return on the stock market has been 18 times greater under Democratic presidents (If you invested $100k for 40 years of Republican administrations you had $126k at the end, if you invested $100k for 40 years of Democrat administrations you had $3.9M at the end)
• Republican presidents added 2.5 times more to the national debt than Democratic presidents
• The two times the economy steered into the ditch (Great Depression and Great Recession) were during Republican, laissez faire administrations
Oh and now it’s just being reported Joe Biden’s brother who has no experience in construction but just started a company a few years back (HillStone International) got a govt. contract for 1.5 billion to build homes in Iraq… Hillstone stands to make 760 million in profit. C R O N Y!
Yeah I would be laughing my ass off too.
Halburton 2.0???
Subject: Obamas Suicide Economy
Hi Everyone
In the middle of this article, Root list last months economic numbers. Very important read!
Hello, I’m Wayne Allyn Root forPersonalLiberty.com. As John Lennon might say, “I want you to imagine with me for a moment.”
Imagine a U.S. President presiding over a country in major economic decline: sales tax revenues plunging; unemployment growing worse by the month; petroleum sales (the foundation of our economy) sinking like a rock; GDP anemic; the real estate crash worse than the 1929 Great Depression; 40 percent of the net assets of the average American gone; prices for food and gas skyrocketing; and suicides going up so fast, they now outnumber deaths from car accident.
Imagine that. It’s unthinkable!
Now, imagine in the face of all that, the mainstream media claiming things are getting better, refusing to challenge the President when he repeats over and over again the lie that “we are in recovery” and viciously attacking the Presidential challenger for daring to criticize the incumbent President? You’d be insane to picture that set of circumstances, right?
Sadly, it’s happening right now. We’ve gone from the world’s greatest economic superpower to an Obama economy where Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi claim food stamps and unemployment benefits are economic activity. And in our final death throes under Obama we’ve become “The Suicide Economy.” That’s right. Americans are so happy and financially secure under Obama, they are committing suicide in record numbers. More people are now purposely killing themselves than die in car accidents — for the first time ever.
How bad is the economy? Here are the stats the mainstream media are covering up:
A month ago, California reported sales tax revenues plunged a shocking $539 million below expectations. That’s over a half billion dollars in one State, in one month. Does that sound like a recovery to you?
The jobless rate rose in 44 States in July, including nine out of 10 battleground States. In August, Nevada’s unemployment went back up past 12 percent again. Does that sound like a recovery to you?
The American Petroleum Institute reports that U.S. consumer demand for oil and other forms of petroleum in July was the lowest since 1995. Does that sound like a recovery?
The labor force participation rate for all workers is the lowest since 1981, but for men it’s the lowest in over half a century (since 1948). Obama’s campaign slogan is “Forward.” When it comes to jobs we are heading 55 years backward. Does that sound like a recovery?
“Help wanted” ads have collapsed in back-to-back months to the lowest levels since the Lehman Brothers financial disaster. Does that sound like a recovery?
Just days ago, we heard the terrible news thatdurable goods orders dropped a horrific 13.2 percent last month. That is a measure of factory activity. This was the worst drop since the throes of the deep 2009 recession. More signs of business off the rails under Obama.
The final sobering stat is that 37,000 Americans are now committing suicide annually under Obama — more than die in car accidents — for the first time ever. Does that sound like a recovery?
There are two conclusions to be drawn from all these sobering economic statistics, but especially the rise in suicides.
First, there is no recovery. We are in far deeper economic trouble than the media admit. I’m an entrepreneur, small-business owner and capitalist evangelist who happens to have a media megaphone. I can tell you from firsthand experience what is happening at ground zero of the economy. Business is what I do, what I live, every minute of every day. And I can report that it’s ugly (and getting uglier) on Main Street.
There are no jobs. There is no improvement in business. I predict that soon after the holidays (and the election), if the massive tax increases are allowed to take effect, the U.S. economy will suffer a dramatic collapse. The stats reported above are warning signs of a coming economic Armageddon. Is anyone listening?
But as bad as things are here, Europe is the real “canary in the coal mine.” Looking at the EU is like looking into a mirror to see America’s future under Obama. Just in the past few days, we saw in the headlines stories about what is unfolding in Europe: unrest in the streets, rioting, violence, one-third of the business in Athens out of business, middle-class people starving and scavenging through dumpsters in Hungary and Greece.
All of this pain and tragedy is caused by big government and big debt. By governments spending far more than they take in. Eventually, it catches up with you. Eventually, the investors of the world stop lending you money. And then, the crisis hits. All at once, your country goes from a normal existence to a Great Depression to a daily struggle for survival. Don’t look now, but it’s headed your way, folks.
Obama is leading us in the exact same direction as Europe. Obama’s plan is just Europe’s plan for the past half century. It’s just old, tired, worn-out, refried socialist failure.
The sales tax drop in California, the drop in petroleum product sales, the drop in factory activity, the drop in “help wanted” ads, the rise in depression and suicides: These are all signs of where we are headed. All the tragic economic statistics above prove that even Obama and the Fed cannot print enough fake money to paper over the truth — just as the European Central Bank and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) can’t print enough money to paper over the truth about Europe. The EU is broke, insolvent and about to experience an economic tragedy that history will talk about for centuries to come. And, of course, the EU is going to break up.
The second conclusion you can draw from the stats above is that the mainstream media are trying to protect Obama. They know that these bleak economic facts would doom Obama’s re-election. So they have imposed a total media blackout. You’ll never hear the truth about the state of our economy from the mainstream media.
Just consider if suicides were dramatically up under a Republican President like Reagan or Romney at the same time the economy was in free fall, what would the media say? They would not only make the connection, they’d be trumpeting this tragedy in bold headlines 24 hours a day. They would blame the suicides on the poor economy. They’d blame it on capitalism. They’d blame it all the spending cuts and lack of compassion of a Republican President.
So far, Obama gets a pass because of the biased, leftist media. But history won’t be so kind. There is only one way to describe what we are all living through.
Someday, history books will call this “Obama’s Suicide Economy.”
I’m Wayne Allyn Root for Personal Liberty. See you right back here next week. Same time, same place. God Bless.
Bill1488,
I hope you don't automatically consider an article from a former Libertarian VP Candidate posting for an anti-Obama website as completely unbiased and accurate info. I strongly suggest you and anyone else reading the article fact check his statements.
If you do, you'll see where hismisrepresentations are. Consider starting with jobless rates - yes they went up in July, but went down in August and Sept; next look at male labor force participation - yep, it went down because MORE women are working now than in 1948 (it's a workforce percentage calculation).
Those two examples alone should show anyone with an open mind and a desire to know the facts that Mr. Root's article is using cherry-picked, non-contextualized numbers to make what boils down to false arguments. In short, Mr. Root has an agenda and he won't let truth or facts get in his way.
President Obama just sent Mitt a message... Please proceed to Boca Raton Governor.
Want more war? Vote Romney. Ham handed as a description of his handling foreign affairs would be a complement. So who will be guiding the military? 17 of the Bush/Cheney crime syndicates closest advisers.
That will leave Mitt free to run the country like a business. (Run it into deeper debt, take a large cut , then "harvest" it by selling it off piecemeal.)
War without end. Amen.
On December 25, 1991 the United States became the one and only super power left in the world. As a consequence of that, the US is responsible for the security of the world from despots and dictators intent on the destruction of the US and its allies.
Many countries are slowly moving toward the US. China's economy is growing on the backs of its laborers. Russia is still trying to resolve the chaos left from the demise of the communist system. In every case, the countries are 50 years or more from fully competing with the US.
The US has entered the mature stage of its role on the world stage. No longer the imperialist, we now work to have other countries join us to bring about change in the world. The world has changed from the 1950's and 1960's when the US attempted to tell the world how it was to run its affairs.
The difference between President Obama and Mitt Romney in foreign policy is in how they view the world. Mitt Romney believes the world is that from the 1950's and 60's when the Soviet Union was our biggest threat and we could tell the world what to do. President Obama lives in the real world of today, when we are part of the world, not necessarily trying to rule it.
And I hope for the sake of Ambassador Stevens' mother and father that Mr. Romney does not try to bring up the attack in Libya again.
After being asked by both parents to stop politicizing this incident for his own personal gain, Mitt Romney has shown continuous callous regard for our dead patriots and their families.
Having already made the mistake in the second debate of playing with words about whether the President called it an "act of terror" or not, Romney should have realized that he is "out of the loop" with foreign policy and stayed quiet.
For heaven's sake, these are serious issues and not to be treated lightly by getting puffed up about words and phrases!
***SCAM ALERT ****** SCAM ALERT********SCAM FRAUD ALERT!!*********ROMMELSCAM ALERT!!!!!***
That IS Right, the republicanCrimeCartelSoldier MittTaxPittanceRommel and his side kick Lyin'Ryan are running a voting machine Cheat Scam Which: DELETES Democrat Votes and Keeps republican Aristocrat Votes. These Aristocrats are the same Lineage as their relatives from The French Revolution; NO WONDER THEY WERE SENT TO THE GUILLOTINE. Here is SOLID evidence:
To everyone's amazement, we learn that two
members of the Hart Intercivic board of directors, Neil
Tuch and Jeff
Bohl, have made direct contributions to the Romney campaign. This,
despite the fact that they represent 40 percent of the full board of directors
of a company whose independent, disinterested and studiously non-partisan status
in any election taking place on their voting machines would seemingly be a 'no
brainer'.
To Mr. Bohl's credit, after giving a total
of $4,000 to "Romney For President", it must have occurred to him that it might
not look so good for a board member of a company whose voting machines are to be
a part of the presidential election to be playing favorites—so he gave $250 to
Barack Obama to sort
of balance the scales.
Mr. Tuch? Not so much.
Interestingly, Mr. Bohl lists himself as an
investor at H.I.G. Capital for his Romney contributions but his far smaller
donation to Obama was done as "Jeff Bohl, self-employed innkeeper".
And finally, we learn that H.I.G. is the
11th largest of all the contributors to the Romney effort.
Did I say "finally"? My bad...because there
is, indeed, more.
Can you guess who is reported to have a
financial relationship with H.I.G. Capital
Numerous media sources,
including Truthout,
are reporting that Solamere Capital—the investment firm run by Mitt Romney's
son, Tagg, and the home of money put into the closely held firm by Tagg's uncle
Scott, mother Anne and, of course, the dad who might just be the next President
of the United States—depending upon how the vote count turns out, in our little
tale, in the State of Ohio—have shared business interests with H.I.G. either
directly or via Solamere Advisors which is owned, in part, by Solamere Capital,
including a reported investment in H.I.G. by either Solamere Capital or Solamere
Advisors.
Lee Fang, in
his piece for The Nation exploring the government related activities of
various companies in which Solamere has an interest writes-
"Meanwhile, HIG Capital—one of the largest
Solamere partners, with nearly $10 billion of equity capital—owns a number of
other firms that are closely monitoring the federal government. "
While the Cincinnati scenario is —at this
point—fiction, the rest of this story is all too true, including the part where
the voting machines to be used in Hamilton County will be those provided by Hart
Intercivic.
And while I am not suggesting conspiracies
or that anyone would get involved in any foul play here, most
particularly the GOP candidate for President, how is it possible that so many
people could exercise so much bad judgment?
The sanctity of voting in America is
supposed to be one of our most important virtues. So concerned are we with a
'clean' process that James O'Keefe has made a career entrapping, video taping
and destroying those sympathetic to Democratic Party candidates and causes who
cross the line when it comes to the voting process. And that's just fine. If Mr.
O'Keefe can legitimately expose someone engaging in voter fraud, he most
certainly should call them out.
So, why would these individuals who serve
on the board of directors of Hart Intercivic go out of their way to make a
contribution to any political candidate given the critical importance
of their company remaining above reproach when it comes to the political
process? And why would those who run the company that owns Hart Intercivic be
giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to a political candidate? And why would
a political candidate and his family have a financial relationship with a
company that owns a chunk of the voting machine company that will be counting
the actual votes given to that political candidate or his opponent?
Keith Olbermann was suspended from his job
at MSNBC for donating a couple hundred bucks to a local candidate that was a
friend of his. Why? Because his employer required that journalists at the
network stay free of having given such contributions to any candidate
for all the obvious reasons.
Is it really too much to ask that those who
control the voting machines that record and count the votes of our elections be
held to at least the same standard?
Hopefully, everything will go swimmingly in
Cincinnati on Election Day. And, if it doesn't, it will no doubt be the result
of honest error.
Yet, because of this uncomfortable chain of
ownership, we now find ourselves with one more headache among the many headaches
that accompany the important work of choosing an American president and
believing that the process was a fair one—particularly when such an election
comes down to a very few votes as may well be the case on Election Day,
2012.
Really, guys. You couldn't find anything
else to invest in? You couldn't donate all those hundreds of thousands to
charity rather than put it into political contributions so that your fellow
countrymen would have no reason to ever doubt or question the results of so
important an election—or any election for that matter, even if it's the choice
of a county dogcatcher?
I truly wonder sometimes just what these
allegedly smart people have inside their heads—or, more importantly, their
hearts. And Fellow and Sister Americans, WE KNOW Rommel and EddiMunster are gonna rig the voting machines as they intend to rig Medicare and Social Security AND NEW WARS...And Some NAIVE Voters STILL want to vote for THESE CROOKS????
PhantomBeast makes it easy for you and lessons your suffering: Vote to keep Prez O in the Whitehouse as We need the guy; Hear That Fellow Men Voters????
Phantom may have gone overboard with their conspiracy theory, but there is a lot of talk of having international voting monitors to watch the polling sites. I don't care if you are a Republican or a Democrat, when either side tries to make voting more difficult then everyone should be mad. It's not rocket science folks, with citizens united and the attempted changes in restricting voting, it is an attempt to dilute your vote even further. There are people in countries that would and do kill to have this right. I for one, will not give up my right to vote or have it diluted. I will vote for anyone who will strengthen the power of my vote.
Obama's accomplishments in Foreign Affairs and International Relations...
BROAD POLICY:
Re-established the United States standing in the world. ref, ref, ref
Poll: World’s opinion of U.S. has “improved sharply” under Obama. ref
47 nations rise to Obama’s challenge at US nuke summit and agree to four years of non-proliferation efforts. ref
Visited more countries and world leaders than any first year president. ref
G-20 Summit produced a $1.1 trillion deal to combat the global financial crisis. ref
Launched an international Add Value to Agriculture initiative (AVTA). ref
Created a rapid response fund for emerging democracies. ref
Bolstered the military’s ability to speak different languages. ref
BY REGION:
West Hem: Returned the rights of Americans to visit and assist their families in Cuba. ref , ref , ref
Middle East: Appointed envoys to the Middle East and AFPAK affirming the power of American diplomacy.ref
Middle East: Renewed loan guarantees for Israel. ref
Middle East: Pledged $400 million in aid to Gaza civillians. ref
Middle East: Pressured Israel to end Gaza blockade. ref
Middle East: Refused to give Israel a “green light” to strike Iran, augmenting Mid-East stability. ref
Middle East: Iran Sanctions Act. ref
Asia: Authorized President Bill Clinton’s mission to secure the release of two Americans held in North Korea. ref
Asia: Authorized discussions with Myanmar and mission by Sen. Jim Webb to secure the release of an American held captive. ref
Asia: Renewed import restrictions under Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003. ref
Asia: Nuclear arms agreements with India (5/4/2010). ref
Africa: Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009. ref
Africa: Helped stabilize Somalia (Exec Order). ref
Aus: Nuclear arms agreements with Australia (5/5/2010). ref
Europe: Nuclear arms agreement with Russia. ref , ref, ref, ref
Europe: Agreed with Switzerland to bolster tax information exchange ref, re
Cover up for the rape and murder of US Diplomats in Libya...the family has prob been paid off. Obama did nothing to help them... We are the laughing stock of the world show no support for israel... God will deal heavily on us the this as a country and as well as the 6 million....yes 6 million babies aborted... how many in Nazi Germany maybe a cancer cure was among the babies aborted... Whatever Pres O has done pales to the lies and not upholding our Founding Fathers documents...he is rewriting this country...we are a mess and can't afford 4 more years...
being a former navy corpsman 1970 1974. i have a great deal of respect for the office of the president. i would have some serious issues serving for this commander in chief. i love my country and would still die for my country. mr obama has brought this country to a level thats an embarassment!
fhill - I'm curious, what would be your issue? Were you drafted in 1970 or volunteered? Did you approve of the policies in Vietnam? What is the embarassment? I try to keep up to date with international affairs, since all of the news organizations have a problem with this today, and there are some things that I am watching that if they evolve will make the middle east look like beach volleyball. I'd like to hear a veterens point of view.
greek - What? Where is the coherence?
I've never heard such simplistic, lame debate answers from any presidential candidate as are coming out of Romney's mouth. And what exactly is that smirk on Romney's face? Oh, I know: "OMG, the President is SO MUCH more versed in foreign affairs than I am and I have no clue how to get a footing in this debate. What will I do? What will I do?" His answer: say lots of words, even though they mean nothing. Oy!
As much as some hate the thought of the US being the leader of the free world, we are. And with that comes great responsibility. As pointed out, if we don't lead, others will.
Obama's foreign policy, well, not impressed. Yes, he did give the order to go in and take out bin Laden, but everything else leading up to that point was already in place before he even took office.
His latest, Libya, to go in front of the UN and apologize for a video, is reprehensible. Agree with the video or not, we are a nation of free speech. We need a leader who steadfastly stands by our principles, regardless.
If Romney takes the Reagan posture of foriegn policy, he may do well. That is not to say, go to war, but to be willing to go to war if neccessary. And our foes need to know that.
It will be an interesting next four years.
IF...a frog had wings it wouldn't bump its ass every time it hopped! :)
Did you ever notice that countries like Canada, Sweden, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Austria, Australia, many etc., etc., etc.'s who don't take the 'posture' of 'war lords' don't seem to have the 'on-going issues' that the United States has with 'other countries'?? Oh, that's right, we consume 25+% of the world's oil production.....gotta 'fight' for that 'by darn it' 'in the name of freedom'.
Just like Reagan said, 'I never heard of a country being attacked because it was too strong.".
Dkl,
Absolutely, it is just a plain fact that domineering, controlling and warring countries have many more enemies. Nothing costs more and adds more to the federal deficit than major wars and a massive military. We are still paying on many past wars from long ago, not just the recent ones. The US has by far the most expensive military in the world. The US spends more on its military/defense efforts than the next 20 top-spending countries combined, and two of the biggest results we have is a massive debt and many enemies. WAR SHOULD ALWAYS BE THE ABSOLUTE LAST RESORT, and the United States should not invade or attack countries who are not actually invading or attacking other countries, and even then only when it is absolutely necessary to stop a dangerous aggressor, such as Hitler in World War II, and NEVER for material assets such as land or oil or the control of them. There can be a fine line between "preemptive strikes" and violent aggression.
The proper means should be used to stop dangerous threats. It probably does not require a major war to stop dangerous terrorist threats.
Remember, the US was successful for decades at holding the Soviet Union, a major super power, at bay without a major war directly against them, thankfully.
And we should stop trying to use military force in an attempt to build democratic governments in foreign countries who do not understand democracy. After all, can democracy be forced??
Until September Eleventh Two Thousand and One.
Oh, did I just burst your fallacy? You can thank me later. :)
See that's the problem with quotes, they don't always add up. Reagan also got 280 Marines killed in Beirut. But hey, what matters is what he did in retaliation isn't it?
Oh wait, he did nothing. Damn, I almost forgot too. :)
So let's get weaker??? If Oblama gets in for 4 more years, you'd better buy Rosetta Stone Chinese. Oh, I used that horrible word 'buy'. Maybe they will 'give' it to you at the welfare office.
*breaks out World's smallest violin.* :)
What few understand is the the middle east has been at war for thousands of years. Once a holy war has been declared it never ends. They bide their time and wait for openings. Clinton gutted the military and our intelligence network and 9/11 happened. Obama has flat out made the world far less safe with his wishy washy middle east approach. Just like Obama went to Washington expecting to bully his way, Obama displayed weakness in the middle east and the stability of the region is gone. Cleaning up the mess of Obama's foreign policy will not be easy or cheap, and he has left the US far more vulnerable then it has been since 9/11.
*And plays louder for Rick.* :D
BTW 911 was committed under a Republican President, and in case you forgot, the fellow who was responsible for it was killed under a Democrat President. :)
If Romney increases military spending as he and Ryan have proposed (especially in Ryan's budget bills), we will be trillions more in debt alone from that. And, if they cause a major war with Iran over Iran's nuclear threats as you radical, right-wing, extremist, warmongers are proposing, China could easily take us over on our debt to them alone, and we would surely financially collapse; a major war with Iran could easily escalate and add trillions and trillions to the national debt and greatly weaken or destroy our country.
Remember, the US successfully held the super power, the Soviet Union, at bay for decades until they collapsed without a major war against them.
And less you forget, your idol Clinton screwed-up the attack when they could have finished the job. There would have been no 9-11.
Oh, those pesky facts!
LOL it's "lest you forget". :D
And Clinton wasn't going after Bin Laden to prevent September 11th. Sorry but the failure is squarely Bush II's.
Try again... :D
Rick, sorry, the US is much safer now, fewer terrorist attacks and threats all together, fewer embassy attacks in foreign countries than under Bush, and NO attacks on American soil. Clinton actively pursued the perpetrators of terrorism, including Osama bin Laden; meanwhile Bush used 911 to pursue the goals of the now defunct think tank, "The Project for the New American Century," to try to do regime change in Middle Eastern countries not friendly to US policies, and "Osama bin forgotten" under Bush and the republicans. Clinton also listened to his advisers in face of the massive terrorist threats for Y2K and successfully stopped them with stepped up national security. Bush did NOT step up national security one bit in face of all the open threats prior to 911.
Part of the reason the US was so beloved and respected in World War II was because we were NOT viewed back then as the aggressors or autocratic and controlling or the "bad guy." We were viewed as the "good guys." Constant warring and attempting to control other countries, especially militarily, makes many enemies and much debt and will destroy a super power through those two mechanisms, as the Soviet Union discovered.
@ Jeff,
Get your facts straight. 9/11 was the result of almost a decade worth of attacks, both here and abroad on the United States, that was never acted on by Clinton with the exception of Iraq in 1998 with Desert Fox. The last major attack on the US before Bush came to officewas the USS Cole in 2001.
Bush then took office and within 8 months, 9/11 happened. Do you really think this planning was done in that time frame? If so, you're a retard, more so than I had already thought. But don't let actual history and facts get in your way. They haven't helped you in the past..why should they now?
And, for the record...all the pieces of the puzzle to get bin laden were in place BEFORE Odumbo took office. All he had to do was nod his head...which any sane American would have done.
Clinton DID have the chance to get Bin Laden after Al-Qaeda declared war on the US...but sadly instead of sending in actual Spec Ops troops, he sent cruise missiles into Sudan. ROFLMAO.
You're a clueless clown.
The truth is that America will never be as strong as it was. The rich cashed in and gave the manufacturing to China and other cheap countries. Treasonous, yes, but they make the laws. Like Putin and other big shots around the world, money is sitting in overseas accounts never to be touched while the rest of the people sink into poverty. It's a free country, a democracy. We regularly replace one crook with another and the previous one leaves office in shame to his or her luxury and book deals.
Forbes: For A Better Economy, Vote Democratic:
• Personal disposable income has grown nearly 6 times more under Democratic presidents
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown 7 times more under Democratic presidents
• Corporate profits have grown over 16% more per year under Democratic presidents (they actually declined under Republicans by an average of 4.53%/year)
• Average annual compound return on the stock market has been 18 times greater under Democratic presidents (If you invested $100k for 40 years of Republican administrations you had $126k at the end, if you invested $100k for 40 years of Democrat administrations you had $3.9M at the end)
• Republican presidents added 2.5 times more to the national debt than Democratic presidents
• The two times the economy steered into the ditch (Great Depression and Great Recession) were during Republican, laissez faire administrations
Why was USA attacked on 911 and not Canada?
Guess Bush was not a "sane American."
Why was the US attacked and not Canada? Well, because Canada had such a massive military and were controlling the world, why else! (Sarcasm).
Bush was pres, Bush gets the blame. Same way it would work if the opposite were the case. Get your hypocrisy straight.
In actuality it was American's Middle East Policies for the last hundred years, but who's counting?
I lived through the Reagan years and vividly remember Reagan's foreign policy. 2 days after the bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut, he invaded Grenada, and despite a lot of tough talk by Reagan and Bush, he pulled our forces out of Beirut 4 months later. The Iran-Contra Scandal (Oliver North took the fall for that), when the Reagan administration sold weapons to Iran (against international embargoes) in order to fund insurgents in Nicaragua (which had been forbidden by Congress).
He also forgot his mic was live before a speech and said we had launched a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union.
While a lot people credit Reagan's "arms race" with the Soviets for bankrupting the USSR, it was only one factor of several - including the massive amounts of money they were spending fighting insurgents for 10 years in - guess where?- Afghanistan! The same mistake GWB made 2 decades later. Of course, the US helped train and arm the Afghan "freedom fighters", including Osama Bin Laden, but once the Soviets pulled out - we cut off support to the rebels who later became the foundations of what is now know as Al Qaeda.
Pick up a history book and find out what happens Romney and is Bush Foreign policy team get elected - unless you simply choose to remain a "low information voter".
Jeff,
Just curious, do you blame Obama for all of the people laid off in 2009, and for the trillion+ deficits since he took office.
hjack-2817909
Just like Reagan said, 'I never heard of a country being attacked because it was too strong.".
Reagan never heard of 9-11 but maby he could'nt remember a thing called Pearl Harbor.
Let me try to set some records straight. The US created bin Laden. We gave him weapons and knowledge during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. He got mad at the US under Bush I, because the Saudi's asked Bush for help to get Iraq out of Kuwait. Yes, Clinton missed an opportunity to kill him earlier, but is clear that he was a very difficult target to track down and kill. The Twin Towers were first attacked in February 1993 after Clinton became president.
I wonder if the unrest now happening in Kuwait will be brought up in tonights debate on foreign policy?
After all, George H.W. used American troops to uphold the 250 plus year old dynasty in Kuwait in 1991, and his little boy lied to invade Iraq some years later.
Oiling their pockets?
We NEED to re-elect the President!
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/21/us/politics/for-president-obama-a-complex-calculus-of-race-and-politics.html?_r=0
And so did the rest of the world, or did you forget that? Selective memory? or just a liberal shill?
Oh my God, what a horrible thought!
No they didn't. :D I am quite sure "The Rest of the World" did not support us. :)
Well the Democrats supported our going to war in Iraq, including our vice president Joe Middle Class Biden.
I believe many of them would now argue that when they voted to give Bush a "free hand" on Iraq, they believed, like his father in Gulf War I, he would go through the U.N. and secure a resolution authorizing the invasion iotself.
Rick, yes, because the dems were truly patriotic, they rallied behind the repub president and totally supported the War on Terror after the 911 attacks, including the Iraq war at first, because they too were duped by the false pretenses. And, thankfully, they did not politicize this horrendous terrorist attack ON American soil, in spite of the fact Bush had done nothing to prevent it as Clinton did in stopping the Y2K terrorist attacks.
Forbes: For A Better Economy, Vote Democratic:
• Personal disposable income has grown nearly 6 times more under Democratic presidents
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown 7 times more under Democratic presidents
• Corporate profits have grown over 16% more per year under Democratic presidents (they actually declined under Republicans by an average of 4.53%/year)
• Average annual compound return on the stock market has been 18 times greater under Democratic presidents (If you invested $100k for 40 years of Republican administrations you had $126k at the end, if you invested $100k for 40 years of Democrat administrations you had $3.9M at the end)
• Republican presidents added 2.5 times more to the national debt than Democratic presidents
• The two times the economy steered into the ditch (Great Depression and Great Recession) were during Republican, laissez faire administrations
. com/sites/adamhartung/2012/10/10/want-a-better-economy-history-says-vote-democrat/
I agree!
Alex,
You don't need to copy that post into every thread...
As to the post itself - presidents are not dictators in this country, and every president inherits issues that cannot reasonably be prevented from their predecessors. To get a more realistic picture you would need to look at who controlled the House and Senate, and also why the economy did better/worse under each president.
I've seen the Republican version of your post, and to me, they are both equally irrelevant since they are just intentionally playing games with statistics.
FACT: al Quiyda is more active and alive today than they were when Barack took office
Chants heard by attackers at the embassy attacks: "Obama, Obama, we're a million more Osama's"
And your point is????
The pint is, Master Joseph, that Oblama is once again lying (and still they come). Have you noticed that suddenly he has stopped saying 'al Qaeda is on the run'.
Al Queda and other terrorist groups became very active in the very chaotic Iraq AFTER W's unnecessary war under false pretenses started there, and they are still very active there and in the region due to that alone.
Obama cut and ran from Iraq leaving it for Iran to influence and they are. Our leaving Iraq opened the door to more terrorist expansion and it did nothing but accelerate the destabilization of the region. Toss in Libya, Egypt, and our lack of support in Syria and we now have a middle east on the verge of radical Islamic domination. The entire world is going to suffer for the condition of the region thanks to Obama. Israel will soon be wiped from the face of the earth as Obama has helped increase the number of threats against them. It will be a nuclear ending, and the world has Obama to thank for the chaos that will ensue. Unfortunately, this is a very real scenario thanks to the stupidity of putting a community organizer in the Oval Office.
Rick, remember Bush signed the agreement to leave Iraq that the Iraqi government was demanding before Obama took office and after 7 years of total chaos and war in Iraq after the US invasion.
Barack and Candy Crowley made the story more screwy than it was already last Tuesday night.
It's like everytime Barack or the administration say something about Bengahzi, the story gets a little more twisted and the lies are further exposed...
You know how mom used to say...tell a lie and you have to keep building on it....until it crumbles....
Bill Clinton is one who can speak of that from a personal perspective...peachy.....just sayin'
Monday night's debate topic...Foreign Policy...
For Barack...No Candy Crowley to run to...No Hillary to hide behind...
Oh...now I see...you're an Obama hater!
Do you have any black friends? hahahahahaha
Yeah master, that's the liberal way. Whenever you can't win the argument, toss the race card.
How about this - I will concede that Obama's total incompetence and his wholesale failure as president are due to his white blood. Satisfied?????
I'm no liberal!
And, I'm no racist....
But I can tell one when I read or hear one...because I'm not a moron!
:)
Matter of opinion
Master bater joseph,
I'm no liberal, and I'm no racist, but I know when the President is Lying to the public, because I'm not a moron!
$ dead Americans is "Not Optimal"??????????? Is just a bump in the road!!!!! So who is it really that doesn't care for all Americans? Obobo does if it furthers his agenda, otherwise, well, your demise is not optimal, or just a bump in the road.
Dear skeptical. Yes, maybe you're no liberal or racist, but you're an idiot.
John, you speak like a lib, but have the nerve to call anyone an idiot. Pot-kettle
Obama has just been making it up as he goes along since taking office. Obama can deliver a speech if someone else writes it for him, but expecting him to be up to the job of president was a pipe dream. Obama has been enjoying the perks and the benefits of being president, but vacationing, campaigning, partying, or taping another segment for The View is hardly fulfilling the duties of the job. Obama and his administration got everything about Libya wrong, and to this day they still haven't been able to come up with just one story of what happened and why. We put a community organizer in the White House, and the only thing that could make that decision worse would be if we do it again.
Lets elect a Vulture Capitoilis, Cult Member, Yae!!!!!
The Left's True Colors Shown - War on Women - Racism - Hate
Can women really feel the liberal love?
They want your vote and then you're done...many are awakening to this reality...ask Stacey Dash
Support Barack.....or.......
Mormon authorities and scripture teach that God resides near a planet or star
named Kolob.
hahahahahaha
Master Joseph;
So prove that god does not live there.
Nice of you to attack a person's religion, but Obama can be brought up as a Muslim, his words, & go to a racist Christian church over the years he ran for office, & then tell us he never paid attention or listened, again his words???
Only an idiot like you would propose that you can pove a negative. Did I say idiot, moron?
Kind of like proving Obama's economic policies worked???
That was my point, ya Dem bag.
Ambassador Chris Stevens was brutally raped and sodomized in the name of Allah before being executed by Muslim terrorists in Bengahzi.
Who are the February 17th Martyrs Brigade? What is there cause?
Why were they hired to guard the gates of our embassy in Libya?
Why is the Obama Administration trying to cover-up the truth behind the deaths in Benghazi?
NO YTV influence for the attacks as repeatedly put out by Obama and his administration...
Why the lies about the YTV Barack?
Mormon authorities and scripture teach that God resides near a planet or star
named Kolob.
I've seen you throw the race card in a previous post AND now you make fun of someone's religious beliefs. How can anyone buy the drivel that the left is "inclusive"?
Besides, if we want to bring up religion, how about Obama's Pastor - the racist, hate filled Rev Wright?
Maybe Master Jo cannot understand the Prez's muslim relgion.
Idiot.....
Lets elect a Vulture Capitolist CULT Member, Yae!!!!!
Mitt, you can set yourself apart by telling the truth. The USA is bankrupt. If you are elected you will default on the debt and declare bankruptcy. Do that and you will have my vote.
Since their views on foreign policy are similar, I think this debate will be about who WE want to represent our country. Obama has gained a lot of respect from other nations that GW had lost previously. He's smart and level headed, and with Clinton as SOS needs to continue keeping us safe.
Obama is a joke and the whole world knows it. I guess you haven't travelled outside the US in the last 2 years?
Even the French know he's an incompetent wuss - THE FRENCH for god's sake!!!!
And you have examples? Of course you don't. Dumb trolls don't provide facts, just crap. :)
I see you're a DS so off to the ignorant list you go. :)
The French are like you,BRAINLESS
Obama does not have the reapect of the US citizenry let alone any moron outside the US.
Thank God. I don't think I want reapect either. :)
But for Respect. Obama has improved the United States standing in the rest of the world. Even with the Republicans trying their best to destroy it the last 8 years.
Let me know when Obama gets a shoe thrown at him OK? :D
United we stand, you must be smokin weed. I remember when Obama took office, he shortly went to Central America where Chavez made him Obama the joke of the world, and it has not stopped since. Obama looked like a little boy who was about to have his lunch money taken from the bully
Even if you can overlook the TOTAL FAILURE of this administration and his State Department to ensure there was increased security in an area that was daily becoming more dangerous, even if you can overlook the fact that commen sense should dictate that 9/12 would be a day in a dangerous, Muslim area to make sure security was adequate, how do you justify the presidents narrative that this happened because of a non-existant protest over a video?
Oh? What's that? They were basing it on "intelligence" reports? Even though the state department said from day 1 it was terrorism? Even thoufgh the CIA station chief in Libya said from day one it was terrorism? And still the "intelligence reports blamed the video?
Then Obama is presiding over a totally incompetent CIA and therefore, once again has failed.
I was on the edge as to whom to vote for, after the 47% comment,the views of women, the unclear domestic policy aside from a 5 pt plan I am voting for Obama.Yes things have to change but with all that is going on here at home and abroad I'd rather stay with what I know than chance another republican at this time. There is alot at stake folks,think hard before you vote
Yes...we NEED to re-elect the President!
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/21/us/politics/for-president-obama-a-complex-calculus-of-race-and-politics.html?_r=0
Why dont you take Kibya into account?
Obama is a failure.
Sure, it is always a good idea to stick with the carpenter you hired, who can not measure, cut or nail 2 boards together, over a better choice.
You decided in 2008 on your 2012 vote.
Well, actually soon after the ONLY agenda the Republicans made clear in 2009 - that they wanted to make President Omama a one term president. Everything else after that was simply viewed as an appeal to the religious and racist morons in the country - like you! :)
Master Johnson;
If you had ever hired anyone, you would understand you can determine their value very quickly.
When you do make a mistake & hire the wrong person, you don't re-hire them again just because.
I didn't make a mistake voting for the President, and I will to have him be re-elected...but a vote for Romney would be a BIG mistake! :)
Obama Campaign Strategy: Lie, Attack and Distract
95% of Barack Obama's rehearsal for tonight's debate has been memorizing and repeating the lines....
"What Governor Romney just said is not true" and "Osama is dead"
(Don't forget our Ambassador Stevens, Barack and the three other Americans)
Ok All4Areason, you can stop posting now...we all know you are just another Obama hating moron! :)
Guess I missed the positive posts you've made on his opponent Mitt Romney....just sayin'
No hate here, nothing personal....his policies....oh yes....extreme dislike as a threat to our freedom...
Unfortunately, Barack has lied and has sold his soul and character for the $$$$.
He appears to be a great father and husband with a beautiful family. No, keep the hate where it belongs....the liberal left...
Ask those like me who've made the switch for the positive...our county need Change
All4Areason;
4 years ago it was a "requirement" to 1st say how much we liked Obama, how great a speaker he was, how we liked his wonderful family, etc, etc, before we could begin to say how we did not like his policies.
The liberals & Obama media knew people tuned out before you got to what you did not like, & only heard the "good" things.
What would you call a country where you can not question or speak against the great leader?
Certainly not America.
Obama's Delusion
Obama will rope a dope on foreign polices, and explain all the debacles as not optimal bumps in the road
Kattakara's Obama Delusion....
As long as a politician has no Draft to deal with they are quick to bring up starting wars.Mitt wants to go after Iran. If he should win the Presidency why doesn't he reinstall the draft.Then will see how popular he is .
And send his 'sons' to 'lead the charge'.
yeah, that will be the day...these republican kids seem to avoid dying in wars their daddys started...nobody named romney will die in mitts wars...like the bush girls taking a powder on their daddys faux war on terror in iraq...
There is plenty of blood on the hands of Democrats when it comes to war. Maybe this country should reinstitute a draft and require everyone serve.
My year would be made if Obama LOST the popular vote but WON in the EC. We need to shove 2000 right back up those repukes.............................
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And the GOPs would probably 'see the need' then to dismantle the EC.
That would be poetic justice, but I sure would hate for it to be that close!
If that happened, the GOP would yell "FOUL" so fast it wouldn't even be funny.... oh, wait, yes it would!
Your really negitive. What country are you from ?
Oh I can hear Mitt 'trying' to sing the 'anthem' right now in his off-pitch 'war lord voice'..........personally Obama sings much better and with a smooth what we need 'peaceful voice' :-)
Obama song for all his accomplishments for the past 3-1/2 years would go like this:
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Zip-A-Dee-A
My oh my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine heading my way
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Zip-A-Dee-A
Mister bluebird on my shoulder
It's the truth
It's actual
Everything is satisfactual
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Zip-A-Dee-A
Wonderful feeling
Wonderful day
Are you a Moron.?
You betcha! with a sense of humor :)..................lighten up Frank, the stress will kill you.
frank...they're a racist moron to boot! :)
Obama's 5 Point Plan
Willards five point plan
Kattakara, if you actually do your own research you'll find out that you're wrong. If you're content to get your information from Romney's twisted political ads, Faux News, and Rush Limbaugh, you'll continue to live in a sea of lies.
Yes how will the mitt the missionary warrrior pay for his wars in iran, syria and any place else israel tells him to spill american blood on their behalf...oh wait he can cut food stamps to pay for it..yeah ,that's the ticket..
Why are folks like George B, and Mitt R such great warriors. When they had their chance ,they ran.
what's your point, Obama's book told us during those military age service years, he was selling weed & what ever else "the people wanted".
jdbird...get outta here!!! You can read to???
I will go if you go.
You go first ok.
What scares me about Romney is that he wants to increase defense spending even as he has zero comprehension of the reasons to do so.
We spend almost as much as the rest of the world combined with results that are questionable at best. And he wants to spend more without any explanation of what that will accomplish.
This is the neo-con foreign policy that so drastically failed us under Bush, but with even more money thrown at it. Either he's pandering or he's ignorant.
In tonight's debate, I believe Romney would only have to ask Obama one question, to gain another 2 or 3 points, and that question is: Under your new open door policy, you know, the one you promised the American people, four years ago, what did you mean when you whispered to Russian Medvedev, "I will be more flexible, after I am reelected, we can discuss it then"? Medvedev then patted Obama on the shoulder and whispered back "I will relay your words to Vladimir". Romney should then state, "If this was about nuclear arsenal's, I think we, the American people, have a right to know what you,Obama, and the Russians are planning, without Congressional approval".
Not only will it get him votes, but we can maybe learn what Obama's plans are, that affect our safety and security.
What Obama meant is that elections restrict what people can say. Romney knows that full well, which is why he says so many things behind closed doors to one group (donors) and something entirely different to another group (the electorate).
What I hope some one asks ROmney is why is Russia our #1 enemy instead of Islamist terrorists? Why do you want to start a trade war with CHina when they've been instrumental on Iran sanctions? Why did you put out a false political statement on Libya even as our ambassador was being murdered? Why did you say in the primaries we would staty in Afganistan "until we win" and now agree that Obama's policy is best?
Listen Dave ,We have enough nuclear power with our Sub's to blow up the world 3 times.How much does a civilized Nation need.? What's it like playing marbles.The more you got the more powerful you are. Give me a break.
Frank, the standard neo-con answer to that is "more".
Romney won't borrow money from the CHinese to fund bigbird but he has no problem at all doing so to increase spending on a bloated military or give more tax breaks to the rich.
I heard that................
Frank, we dominate the world with our nuclear arsenal and the result is obvious. No one will mess with us. We have taken on the responsibility of protecting the free world against nuclear attack, again, no one will mess with the free world. Obama wants us to drop our 'offense is the best defensive' role, stating that "it is not our responsibilty to protect everyone". He actually wants to rid the world of nuclear arms. The result? He would end ours, but we all know that Russia, China and the Muslim Countries will never end theirs.
This President is the weakest we have ever had on foreign affairs and if you don't believe it, just read any U.S. newspaper, any day of the week.
If the world wants us to protect them they should start helping to pay for it.
Reagan first suggested we start eliminating nuclear arms.
Read the transcript Candy
How did President Obama know that Candy Crowley had the transcripts to his speech in the Rose Garden, since neither candidate knew what questions were going to be asked? Yep! the President already knew the questions and he knew that Candy had the transcript. It was a well planned attack on Romney, but the ACT OF TERROR statement by Obama was not about what happened in Libya. It was a general statement about terror during the 9-11 terrorist attack on America. Romney is accused of being a liar, but there is proof that Obama lied to America, and that should be the real focal point.
Are you a Moron.?
She didn't have a transcript of the Rose Garden speech. She said later that she'd gone over it as part of her debate prep.
And, no...his remark was clearly about BOTH the 9/11 attacks and the Benghazi attacks. The principal reason for the speech was the Bengahzi attacks...but he noted the 9/11 attacks as the lead up to "no acts of terror," and linked that to the Benghazi act.
Read the trreanscripts of the debate and the speech yourself.
Romney was either mistaken or poorly briefed. Get over it.
President Obama told Romney to read the transcripts, nice try great Fox talking point but wrong, maybe you should go read the transcripts of the debate.
O&JOE
Stone,
She did have the transcript. Not only did she later admit it, you could see her read off of it during the debate. This was the Far Left gotcha moment that the doorknobs set up for, in every debate and interview. The way Obama responded to her was obviously planned, as evidenced by his childish remark and laughter. The entire ruse made her look weak, but more importantly, it made Obama look weak.
She had them. She said she had them.
Kattakara-
How often do you plan to add "facts" to your story so that you're comforted that Romney didn't do something incredibly stupid by politicizing this attack? He blew it twice on this subject and no doubt will blow it again tonight with these manufactured "truths". Candy Crowley didn't have the transcript!
Romney was the one who supposedly "caught" the President in a "Gotcha" moment that backfired. If this was all pre-planned, the Governor had to be in on it.
"United WE Stand" is correct. Romney simply compounded his original error in "politicizing" a tactical tragedy in Benghazi, caused by an apparent lack of intelligence and/or poor response to requests for additional security. One tactical defeat doesn't justify a major change in strategy and it must certainly be thoroughly investiogated before abandoning the broader strategy. In a war, one seldom wins ALL of the battles.
But, if Romney wants to keep digging this hole for himself, let him continue. My guess is that Libya will not get much attention this evening.
P.S. And, if Issa is actually releasing secret information naming Libyans the CIA is working with and endangering thier lives, Boehner needs to tell him to shut up.
Stone,
Oh, believe me, Libya will get plenty of attention tonight. When a President stands by and allows 4 Americans to die on sovereign soil and then says he didn't know anything about the facts, deserves a lot of attention. We are learning that our President is as inept on foreign affairs as he is on our economy.
Jesus... *facepalm*
The comment wasn't directed at her; it was directed at Mitt, I watched the debate did you? Pull your head out of your @$$.
Obama was in Libya at the Embassy when the attack took place? WOW he is like Superman, but without the cool red cape. :)
You're pathetic and a fool.
That's BS. I didn't blame President Bush for the attacks on 9/11/01. I supported him in Afghanistan. We all stood togther to go after the attackers, not each other.
And, contrary to popular belief, consulates and embassies are NOT sovereign soil, although I thought so myself, before I checked.
I believe the special Fox story last night brought up the fact that Secretary Clinton had sent an internal memo requesting additional security for Libya and that the CIA had published a "talking points memo" the day before Rice's appearance on the Sunday News programs, that said the Benghazi attacks may have been an outgrowth of the demonstrations, over the video, that took place in Cario.
The Romney campaign seems to be "implying" that the Administration was somehow justifying the Benghazi attacks as being due to an anti-Islamic video, which fits with the crazies opinions on Obama being a Muslim Kenyan, etc., etc. That's nonsense.
Romney needs to admit his mistakes and move on.
By adopting neo-conservative foreign policy goals, Romney has gone from simply being "wrong" to being "dangerous" to the national security interests of the United States.
So Reagan should have been handed his walking papers for Beirut Lebanon??
O&JOE2012
uncertain turmoil? obama and the left was all for it. the best thing to happen since white bread. the guru al gore even said we need one here in the U.S. what happened?
So let me get this right? We had drones flying in Benghazi the same time this attack was going on watching the whole thing go down?
And yet done nothing? Then blamed it on a video for two weeks. Even after Al-Qaeda takes full responsibility.
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/09/15/238197.html
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/blows_his_bam_dunk_9LyVxEqG05C5yDD1kvDijJ
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/50476
What does Jimmy Carter and Barrack Obama have in common? Failed foreign policy and clueless on how to lead America. Last but not least, both 1 term presidents.
Failed foreign policy?
Stopped the Iraq War, killed out worst enemy (not Russia Mittens), repaired international relations, provided a strategy to stop the Afghan war.
All of which GOP fought against.
Mark Thomas
Are you REALLY that gullible or just plain stupid ? Go bury your hear back in the sand.