Four days before facing Barack Obama in the first of three presidential debates, Mitt Romney used his weekly podcast speech to sharpen his critique of his opponent, charging the president with bungling the crisis in the Middle East.
“We’ve seen a confused, slow, and inconsistent response to the terrorist attack in Libya, a refusal to be frank with the American people about what happened, and a complete failure to explain the growing terrorist threat we face in the region,” Mr. Romney said in the remarks released Saturday.
“President Obama’s foreign policy is one of passivity and denial. And that places America and our friends and allies at the mercy of events and those who mean to do us harm.”
In the speech, titled “On American Exceptionalism,” Mr. Romney makes the case for U.S. leadership in the world.
“In a dangerous world, we can’t allow indifference to undermine security. Only strength and clarity can keep the peace. When I’m president, I’ll reverse President Obama’s defense cuts. I’ll call terrorism what it is. I will never abdicate American leadership — and I will never apologize for America.”
Mr. Romney, who will take the stage Wednesday at the University of Denver with Mr. Obama for a debate on domestic policy, offered a glimpse as well of his line of attack on the president’s handling of the U.S. economy in Saturday’s address:
“Back in 2008, President Obama didn’t make the case for his candidacy on his accomplishments because he couldn’t. He didn’t have any,” Mr. Romney said.
“Four years later … We’re struggling through the worst recovery since the Great Depression.”
Hear the entire speech here: https://www.mittromney.com/blogs/mitts-view/2012/09/weekly-podcast-american-exceptionalism.
• David Eldridge can be reached at deldridge@washingtontimes.com.
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