WilliamPitt

WilliamPitt's Journal

September 12, 2012

Very rough transcript of Romney's statement just now

I Skyped the gist of the presser to my co-workers. The quoted portions are accurate.

P.S. Romney looked terrible, stammered a lot...and did this only to get out ahead of Obama's statement. He had four flags behind him, trying to be presidential...but the real president is about to speak, and Romney setting up the comparison could prove to be lethal...and never mind the fact that Romney is going all-political while they're still hosing blood off the sidewalk. Ugh.

Transcript as best as I could manage.

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William Pitt: We're sad we're sad, freedom...and doubling down on saying the administration "sympathized" with the attackers.
William Pitt: "Mixed signals they're sending to the world."
William Pitt: "American leadership is necessary to ensure that events in the region do not spin out of control."
William Pitt: He's taking questions. Brace yourselves.
William Pitt: First question is about that. He's stammering.
William Pitt: "It's a terrible course to apologize for our values."
William Pitt: "An apology for America's values is never the right course."
William Pitt: All the questions are about his statement
William Pitt: "It's their administration. Their administration spoke."
William Pitt: "The embassy is their administration."
William Pitt: "The statement that came from the administration is akin to an apology."
William Pitt: Lots of stammering in that last one. Lots of stammering in general.
William Pitt: Question: did you jump the gun on the statement?
William Pitt: "I'm not going to take hypotheticals on what might have happened," in response to question of would you have made that statement if you knew the ambassador was dead.
William Pitt: HA. "President Obama has shown a lack of clarity on foreign policy."
William Pitt: The questions are all about the timing of his statement. The press isn't buying it. MSNBC just cut away.

September 12, 2012

The shit hits the fan in Libya: US ambassador dead, Romney attacks Obama for siding with attackers

US ambassador, three staffers killed in Libya: http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/2012/09/12/american-killed-libya-protest-over-film/2EQzJyTOC9gbv3PtnixjsK/story.html

...apparently by protesters who are protesting Terry Jones' new anti-Islam movie: http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/09/state-dept-confirms-death-in-libya-romney-attacks-disgraceful-white-house.php?ref=fpb

From that second link:

In a previous incident tied to Jones, a riot at a U.N. mission in Afghanistan killed 12 people in 2011, including three United Nations workers and four security guards, after mullahs urged followers to protest the Florida pastor’s burning of a Koran. More were killed in additional protests elsewhere in the country.

Earlier today, officials at the U.S. Embassy in Egypt issued a statement that “condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims — as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions.” The embassy said the statement was drafted and released before the protests. But the succession of events drew widespread criticism in the United States after violence broke out for appearing weak in the face of threats.

That statement was not vetted by the State Department when it was released, so SecState Clinton sought to roll it back: “Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet. The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind.”

Romney's response: “I’m outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. 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.”

Reince Priebus tweet: "Obama sympathizes with attackers in Egypt. Sad and pathetic."

Obama campaign response: "We are shocked that, at a time when the United States of America is confronting the tragic death of one of our diplomatic officers in Libya, Governor Romney would choose to launch a political attack."

September 11, 2012