Sensing an opening, Mitt Romney focuses attacks on Obama’s foreign policy

Source: Wash. Post

PUEBLO, Colorado— Mitt Romney on Monday criticized President Obama’s comments in a recent interview where he described the eruption of violence in the Middle East as “bumps in the road,” saying that Obama has diminished America’s standing in the world and failed to lead.

“The president characterized as bumps in the road — the developments of the Middle East, we just had an ambassador assassinated. Egypt has elected a Muslim Brotherhood or person as president. Iran is on the cusp of having nuclear capability,” Romney said in an interview with NBC News. “We have tumult in Syria and also Pakistan, and I don’t consider these bumps in the road. I think this is a time for American leadership domestically; the president’s policies are a continuation of the past four years. We can’t afford four more years like the last four years.”

Romney’s comments came amid a change in course for his campaign; the Republican presidential candidate has said he will campaign more, fund raise less and draw clearer distinctions between his policy positions and the president’s ahead of next month’s debates.

At a rally here, a state where Romney trails by five points in the most recent poll, Romney reiterated his new line of attack on Obama’s foreign policy record, which has drawn increased scrutiny since the death of U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans during an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi this month.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/sensing-an-opening-mitt-romney-focuses-attacks-on-obamas-foreign-policy/2012/09/24/495260a6-0678-11e2-a10c-fa5a255a9258_story.html