Gaining ground in several new polls, a resurgent Mitt Romney on Monday sought to burnish his foreign policy credentials with a major policy speech attacking President Obama’s handling of the Middle East.
He accused Obama of emboldening Iran, alienating Israel, abandoning Syrian rebels, withdrawing troops from Iraq too abruptly and mishandling the consulate attack in Libya that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
“We cannot support our friends and defeat our enemies in the Middle East when our words are not backed up by deeds, when our defense spending is being arbitrarily and deeply cut . . . and the perception of our strategy is not one of partnership, but of passivity.”
Romney spoke as several polls found him enjoying a jolt of new support following his performance against Obama in last week’s debate.
A poll released by the respected Pew Research Center showed the biggest bounce — a Romney lead of 49% to 45% among likely voters. A Pew poll in mid-September had Obama up among likely voters, 51% to 43%.
But one poll suggested the bounce might be short-lived. A seven-day tracking poll by Gallup found a five-point edge for the President among registered voters, about where he was before the debate.
Obama spent Monday in California, where he designated the home of Latino labor leader Cesar Chavez — the United Farm Workers union founder who died in 1993 — a national monument.
The designation could shore up support from Hispanic and progressive voters for Obama, whose 2008 “Yes we can” slogan borrowed from Chavez’s motto, “Si, se puede.”
Obama also held fund-raisers in San Francisco, as his campaign closed in on a staggering $1 billion in donations. Romney’s Virginia speech offered a preview of the attacks he is likely to launch when he debates Obama on foreign policy on Oct. 22 in South Florida — their third and final debate.
Romney accused the President of emboldening Iran by putting “daylight” between the U.S. and Israel.
Romney also said the President pulled U.S. troops out of Iraq too quickly, placing the nation’s fragile security gains at risk.
And he said Obama’s policies have left the U.S. “at the mercy of events,” including last month’s attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans were killed.
Romney cast the attack in Libya as part of a larger trend of anti-American violence in the region.
“When we look at the Middle East today . . . it is clear that the risk of conflict in the region is higher now than when the President took office,” he said.
Romney also brought up the issue of Iraq, accusing the Obama administration of an “abrupt withdrawal” of troops. He framed Iraq as part of “a struggle between liberty and tyranny, justice and oppression, hope and despair.”
White House spokesman Jay Carney dismissed Romney’s tough talk on Iran as “chest-thumping” and many of his other Middle East proposals as “contradictions.”
He jumped on Romney’s comments about the war in Iraq.
“In what seems simply to be an attempt to draw a distinction with this President without any policy forethought, Gov. Romney is now saying we should have tens of thousands of troops still in Iraq,” Carney said. “And this President is happy to debate that issue, because he profoundly disagrees.”
To drive home the counterattack, the Obama campaign launched a television ad slamming what it called Romney’s “gaffe-filled” overseas trip in July — a tour of England, Israel and Poland — as “reckless” and “amateurish.”
The ad, which will air in Virginia, reminds voters of Romney’s stumbles on that trip, which included questioning whether his British hosts were ready to host the Olympics.
“If this is how he handles the world now, just think what Mitt Romney might do as President,” the ad said.
The Obama campaign also dispatched Madeline Albright, the secretary of state under former President Bill Clinton, who called Romney’s address “very shallow” and “full of platitudes” on a conference call with reporters.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also took a moment to tout the President’s foreign policy victories during the Columbus Day Parade.
“Bottom line is, it’s very hard for (Romney) to make inroads on foreign affairs because Obama has done a good job in terms of getting Bin Laden,” he said.Although Romney took a sharp tone in Monday’s policy speech, he is taking a noticeably softer approach on the campaign trail.
During a three-day campaign swing through Florida this weekend, the GOP candidate devoted much of stump speeches to sharing his past good deeds — including ministering to a 14-year-old leukemia patient who died after Romney helped him write out a will.
On Monday, Romney made an impromptu stop at a Virginia elementary school, where he was greeted like a pop star by a group of squealing fourth- and fifth-graders.
The students lined up to shake hands with the White House hopeful, who also crouched in the grass for a group photo with the children.
“I just saw you on TV!” exclaimed one little girl who was almost overcome with excitement.
Meanwhile, Romney found himself in dispute with television host Linda Ellerbee, after skipping an opportunity to take part in Nickelodeon’s “Kids Pick the President” special that includes President Obama.
Ellerbee, the show’s host and executive producer, said the decision “disses” children.
The Romney campaign did not immediately respond to requests by The Associated Press for comment.
Since 1992, when Nickelodeon began airing the Q&As, only two other candidates have declined to take part, Ellerbee said: Democratic contender John Kerry said no in 2004, which prompted President George W. Bush to withdraw.
source: nydailynews.com
