“Blunder," “Reeks of
Political Opportunism," “Amateur Comments," “Unpresidential”
IOWA
“Mitt
Romney should be ashamed. The way he behaved on Tuesday night and Wednesday
after the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and the killing of J. Christopher
Stevens, the American ambassador to Libya, is not befitting a candidate for
president of the United States.”
NORTH
CAROLINA
“But
Romney plunged ahead. ‘Apology for America’s values is never the right course,’
he declared. Of course not. Neither is criticism of the president so hasty and
poorly informed that it reeks of political opportunism amidst a deadly crisis.”
NEW
HAMPSHIRE
“The
demented attacks on America's embassy in Egypt and consulate in Libya, and Mitt
Romney's hasty and hyperbolic response to them, raises similar questions about
the Republican presidential candidate's fitness to govern. Romney's
condemnation of the Obama administration, at a time when American lives had
been lost and its embassies were under siege, calls his judgment and ability to
guide foreign policy into question.”
NEW
YORK
On
the other hand, what was wholly inappropriate was for presidential challenger
Mitt Romney to weigh in when and how he did. "It's disgraceful that the
Obama administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our
diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks,"
his campaign first said in a statement at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday evening. By
the next morning he was saying at a Florida campaign stop that "apology
for American values is never the right course."
NEVADA
“Although
who was responsible for the brutal murder was still unclear several days later,
and no one knew for sure whether an anti-Muslim film was the cause or simply an
excuse, Romney immediately blamed Obama for the attack, accusing him of a
failure of leadership, particularly in the Middle East. … Whether you agree
with Obama’s policies or not, Romney’s statement was ill-considered, ill-timed
and politically opportunistic. There should be no place for it from a man who
wants to be president.”
PENNSYLVANIA
“Unfortunately,
because it is election season, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney
didn't wait for expert assessments to use the four diplomats' deaths to launch
his own verbal assault.”
His
handling of the Benghazi tragedy was shockingly inept. First, instead of
sharing quietly in the grief of those who lost family, friends and colleagues
in the firebombing of the U.S. Consulate, Mr. Romney tried to turn a day of
American loss into a political opportunity. He accused President Barack Obama
of apologizing to America's adversaries and placating foreign extremists. That
baseless criticism calls into question not only his judgment but also his
sensitivity, sense of decency and even his humanity.
In
1988, as he accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, Massachusetts Gov.
Michael Dukakis said the election was not about ideology, but competence.
Twenty-four years later, voters have good reason to wonder about the ideology
of Dukakis’s successor, Mitt Romney, given his well-documented “flexibility” on
numerous issues. But it’s becoming increasingly apparent that they should also
start asking serious questions about his competence.
FLORIDA
“Predictably,
the attacks were quickly mired in political controversy at home. Candidate Mitt
Romney jumped the gun in attacking Mr. Obama as an ‘apologist’ because of a
statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo before the assaults took place.
Reacting to the death of U.S. diplomats by seeking to take political advantage
is profoundly inappropriate.”
Two
problems: First, the response was a statement from the embassy in Cairo that
was released hours before Americans were attacked. Second, the statement was
aimed at preventing violence and calming the angry response over the release of
Innocence of Muslims, a hateful film critical of Islam and heavily promoted by
fringe anti-Islamic Gainesville pastor Terry Jones. The embassy had criticized
the movie as the handiwork of ‘misguided individuals to hurt the religious
feelings of Muslims — as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all
religions’ Romney disingenuously seized upon the statement as a ‘disgrace’ that
sympathized with the protesters rather than a condemnation of the attacks.
“Pointing
fingers, playing the blame game, second-guessing without all the facts, and
trying to score political points during a time like this is indeed ham-handed,
even by the standards of a political campaign that seems to get nastier by the
day”
“For
the moment, commentary has focused on Mitt Romney’s premature, inaccurate blast
at the Obama administration for “sympathizing” with those who carried out the
violence that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans. In
fact, the comments were from one Cairo embassy staffer, came before news of the
murders in Benghazi, Libya, were aimed at heading off protests over an
anti-Muslim video and were ordered removed by the White House. Mr. Romney does
himself no favors by doubling down on a very unpresidential response.”
“When
terrorists struck America on Sept. 11, 2001, the nation grieved together.
Eleven years later, in the wake of another 9/11 attack -- which Tuesday claimed
the lives of a U.S. ambassador and three other brave Americans at a consulate
in Libya -- that spirit of unity was missing. In its place was partisan
finger-pointing by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who
prematurely lobbed off-base criticism at the wording of the U.S. diplomatic
response.”
MICHIGAN
“A
real leader doesn’t jump the gun and put countless lives in danger with
careless bravado in responding to acts of aggression. A good president waits
for reliable reports, considers the implications of his words, which will be
closely parsed, and makes a measured statement. Mitt Romney did the exact
opposite, immediately leaping to wild accusations long before all the facts
were in.”
OHIO
“Republican
nominee Mitt Romney's trigger finger was so quick that he didn't even get it
right.”
“Unfortunately,
Mitt Romney chose to ignore the distinction. In a statement, the Republican
presidential candidate expressed outrage at the attacks and the death of an
American consulate worker. He then cudgeled the White House for a “first
response” that did not condemn but showed sympathy “with those who waged the attacks.”
The idea of any American president, Republican or Democratic, taking such a
stance is ludicrous. As it is, Romney strained in grabbing the moment to press
a familiar campaign theme.”
WISCONSIN
“Mitt
Romney, the Republican nominee for president, was quick to criticize President
Barack Obama, noting Tuesday night that he was "outraged by the
attacks" and that it was disgraceful that "the administration's first
response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions but to
sympathize with those who waged the attacks." The chairman of the Republican
National Committee, Reince Priebus of Wisconsin, tweeted: "Obama
sympathizes with attackers in Egypt. Sad and pathetic." Sad and pathetic?
Yes, it was sad and pathetic to see such callous and uninformed statements from
politicians who couldn't wait until they had the facts to use an international
incident for political gain.”
COLORADO
“That
democratic peace relies on tolerance of people with different beliefs. Without
that tolerance for other beliefs, it all falls to pieces. That couldn't be more
clear in the wake of the deaths in Libya. And stating that commitment to one of
our core values is not an "apology" as candidate Mitt Romney tried to
portray it. Not only irresponsibly, when he was clueless as to the extent of
the attack but even the next morning when more information was available to
him. For someone whose campaign has been studded with tone-deafness abroad,
this was stunning, undiplomatic and undemocratic rhetoric.”
“Still,
Republican candidate Mitt Romney was out line when he criticized the embassy
statement for "sympathizing" with rioters. U.S. diplomats obviously
have no sympathy for such criminals, and the statement doesn't imply they do.”
VIRGINIA
“American
presidents don't indulge in public tantrums during international crises. They
don't exploit the deaths of American servants in an attempt to score cheap
political points. And they don't accuse American diplomats of sympathizing with
terrorists. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney did all of those
things this week, in the midst of attacks on U.S. embassies in the Middle East,
thus providing his opponents and voters with ample reason to question his
ability and judgment in foreign affairs.”
“Mitt
Romney's response to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, which killed
Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, cast further doubt on
the Republican presidential nominee's ability to navigate sometimes roiling
foreign policy seas. Relying on scant reports gathered in the haze of battle,
Romney was too quick and too brash in his criticism of the Obama
administration's reaction to events in the Middle East.”
Source: DNC Press
