Obama and his Republican foe clashed on Iran’s nuclear program, the Arab Spring, Libya and Syria/AFP
Obama and his Republican foe clashed on Iran’s nuclear program, the Arab Spring, Libya and Syria, diverting at times to the domestic economy, as they sought to break the deadlock in the White House race two weeks from election day.
The president, playing on his poll ratings as a strong leader, said that Romney had changed his positions on foreign policy over and over again and warned that he lacked the consistency needed of a commander-in-chief.
“On a whole range of issues, whether it is in the Middle East, Afghanistan, whether it is in Iraq, whether it is in Iran, you have been all over the map,” Obama said in the foreign policy-themed debate in Florida.
And he openly mocked Romney’s claims that that he had run down the armed forces to levels not seen since early in the 20th Century.
“You mentioned the navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military’s changed,” he said to laughter from the audience.
“We have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines.
“So the question is not a game of Battleship where we’re counting ships. It’s, what are our capabilities?”
Romney launched a sweeping critique of Obama’s policies on the Arab Spring, Syria and Iran, but was careful to come across as moderate, moving away from more conservative positions as he took a commander-in-chief test.
Often, Romney appeared to differ with the president more on tone than substance, as the rivals vied for the votes of remaining undecided voters in crucial swing states.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor congratulated Obama for “taking out” Osama bin Laden, but warned Islamic extremism was rampant in post-Arab Spring societies, and cautioned “we can’t kill our way out of this mess.”
Romney also called on Obama to do more to end violence in Syria and demanded tightened sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.
“I thought they saw weakness where they had been expected to find American strength,” Romney said of leaders in Tehran, accusing the president of making “apology tours” abroad.
The president hit back, complaining “nothing Governor Romney said is true,” calling his Iran charge the “biggest whopper” of the campaign.
Obama also launched a scathing attack on Romney’s foreign tour as a candidate earlier this year, saying when he had been running for the White House he visited US troops and Israel to reflect on the Holocaust.
“I didn’t take donors,” Obama charged, noting the fact that Romney carried out a political fundraisers with wealthy Jewish donors in Israel.
The president looked puzzled, bemused and sometimes incredulous with Romney’s savage critique of his diplomacy, as seen on a split screen carried by television networks screening the debate.
“I know you haven’t been in a position to actually execute foreign policy, but every time you’ve offered an opinion, you’ve been wrong,” Obama told his opponent, a former Massachusetts governor.
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