trailmonkee
trailmonkee's JournalPress Conference: Romney Accuses President Obama of Sympathizing via Embassy Statement
Source: MSNBC Live
said he thinks embassy statement apologized for our values
then he said he agreed with the statement
blamed embassy statement on President Obama
link to follow
Read more: tbd
Romney: Obama responsible for 'apology' issued after embassy attack
Source: Examiner
Mitt Romney today again denounced the embassy attacks in Cairo and Libya today, calling the apology sent out by the Cairo embassy a 'disgrace.'
"That reflects the mixed signals that they are sending to the world." Romney said, calling the apology a "terrible course" of action while the American embassy in Cairo was breached.
Romney noted that although President Obama tried to distance himself from the statement, his administration was responsible.
"The President takes responsibility not just for the words that come from his mouth, but the words that come from his ambassadors, from his administration, from his embassies, from his State Department. They clearly sent mixed messages to the world, and the statement that came from the administration and the embassy is his administration."
The statement in question was issued by the U.S. embassy in Cairo in repsonse to the attack:
"The Embassy of the United States in Cairo 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 in a statement published online.
Read more: http://washingtonexaminer.com/romney-obama-responsible-for-apology-after-cairo-attack/article/2507742
link to press conference video: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/mitt-romney-discusses-libya-attack-17218040
Clinton pays tribute to slain ambassador
Source: AP
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans who were killed in an attack on a U.S. consulate last night had been "committed to helping the Libyan people reach for a better future."
Ambassador Chris Stevens was a career diplomat who was confirmed as ambassador to Libya by the Senate earlier this year. He had already served two tours in Libya, and had run the office in Benghazi during the revolt against Moammar Gadhafi.
Clinton said Stevens had a "passion for service, for diplomacy and for the Libyan people." She says he was dedicated to "advancing closer ties with the people of the Middle East and North Africa."
The secretary of state says Stevens "risked his own life to lend the Libyan people a helping hand to build the foundation for a new, free nation."
Read more: http://www.wpri.com/dpps/news/world_news/clinton-pays-tribute-to-slain-ambassador-nd12-jgr_4537982
Because of her support, @CondoleezzaRice needs to put out a statement condeming Romney's actions
@CondoleezzaRice
Because of your support for Mitt Romney,You must make a statement now condemning Romney's reckless response and statements about this crisis
Afghanistan says it bans YouTube so 'offensive video about Prophet Muhammad' can't be viewed
Source: CNN
Afghanistan says it bans YouTube so 'offensive video about Prophet Muhammad' can't be viewed - @Reuters
Read more: http://www.breakingnews.com/item/ahZzfmJyZWFraW5nbmV3cy13d3ctaHJkcg0LEgRTZWVkGOXWjgoM/2012/09/12/afghanistan-says-it-bans-youtube-so-offensive-video-about-prophet-muh
US ambassador's murder: Mitt Romney looks as if he's seized on a human tragedy for his own ends
From the Telegraph:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danhodges/100180665/us-ambassadors-murder-mitt-romney-looks-as-if-hes-seized-on-a-human-tragedy-for-his-own-ends/
Given that events in Libyan are still unfolding, and details remain sketchy, it seems almost tasteless to try to view them through the prism of the 2012 US presidential election. But that doesn’t seem to have bothered Mitt Romney, who as early as yesterday evening was out waving the bloodied shroud, and issuing a statement claiming he was "outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi”.
At this ludicrously early juncture it’s impossible to judge how Romney’s remarks will be received, and what if any short-term impact these attacks may have on the race for the White House. Damian Thompson has rightly identified that Barack Obama will have questions to answer regarding diplomatic security, though he equally correctly criticises the Republican challenger for “jumping in with indecent haste”. Con Coughlin describes it as a “wake up call” for the President, which it undoubtedly is.
But one thing I’m certain of: if Mitt Romney tries to pick this up as an issue and run with it, he’ll regret it.
For now I suspect he may get away with his transparently self-serving reaction, and the emphasis will be very much on Barack Obama to explain how this appalling murder was allowed to happen, and how he plans to respond. But the impression of Mitt Romney seizing onto a human tragedy for his own ends will linger, and finally begin to seep into the consciousness of the electorate. One of Romney’s key negatives is the perception of him as aloof and calculating, and with one hasty press release he has reaffirmed that. And if people do begin to forget, come next month’s debates Barack Obama will be sure to remind them.
Mitt Romney also has a broader strategic problem. Barack Obama and the Democrats now own national security. The death of Bin Laden, withdrawal from Iraq and draw-down from Afghanistan represent trump cards. Two polls released yesterday showed Obama with an 11 point lead over Romney on terrorism related issues, and a 12 point lead on broader international affairs.
Nor will Romney have been helped by Vladimir Putin’s statement today that Romney’s foreign policy pronouncements justify Russia’s hawkish stance on missile defence. If the GOP hopeful wants to spend the next couple of weeks focusing on Libya he will, to coin a phrase, be making the President’s day.
And there is a third problem. Horrified though American’s will be by events in Libya, they happened in Libya. Yesterday marked the eleventh anniversary of the death of over 3,000 of their countrymen in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. These attacks will shock America, but they won’t shake her. And they certainly won’t define how people vote in November.
Mitt Romney will have to look elsewhere for his “gamechanger”. And if he is fortunate enough to find it, I sincerely hope he reacts with more dignity and self-restraint than he showed last night
President Obama Apologizes by Sending in the Marines....
Romney is an idiot 
he needs to now stfu before others are hurt... I posted a few items on this in LBN as it was happening and I had a bad feeling about this one.
Carter: 'Financial corruption' harms US elections
Source: AP
ATLANTA (AP) — Former President Jimmy Carter issued a blistering indictment of the U.S. electoral process Tuesday, saying it is shot through with "financial corruption" that threatens American democracy.
Speaking at the international human rights center that bears his name, Carter said "we have one of the worst election processes in the world right in the United States of America, and it's almost entirely because of the excessive influx of money."
The 39th president lamented a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows unlimited contributions to third-party groups that don't have to disclose their donors.
The dynamic is fed, Carter said, by an income tax code that exacerbates the gap between the wealthiest Americans and the rest of the electorate, allowing the rich even greater influence over public discourse and electioneering.
He added that he hopes the "Supreme Court will reverse that stupid ruling," referring to the case known as Citizens United.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/09/12/poll-obama-holds-10-point-lead-over-romney-among-catholic-voters/
Mitt Romney's Reported Interactions With Massachusetts Same-Sex Couples Detailed
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/12/mitt-romney-same-sex-couples_n_1875994.htmlA new account detailing Mitt Romney's interactions with same-sex couples was published Tuesday, alleging that the former governor had an uncomfortable meeting with several of the plaintiffs in Goodridge v. Dept of Public Health, the landmark case that legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.
According to a story in Boston Spirit magazine, Romney met with the plaintiffs in 2004 after the then-governor endorsed a constitutional amendment barring same-sex couples from obtaining marriage licenses. According to those present at the meeting, Romney showed little interest in hearing them plead their case.
Boston Spirit's Scott Kearnen reports:
“It was like talking to a robot. No expression, no feeling,” recalls David Wilson, one of the plaintiffs in the case who met with Romney that day. “People were sharing touching stories, stories where you’d expect recognition in the other person’s face that they at least hear what you’re saying — that there’s empathy. He didn’t even shake his head. He was completely blank.”
Occasionally Romney would say something.
“I didn’t know you had families,” remarked Romney to the group, according to Wilson. The offhanded remark underscored that Romney, the governor of the first state prepared to grant same-sex marriage, hadn’t taken the time to look at what the landmark case was really about.
Julie Goodridge, the lead plaintiff in the Massachusetts case, has previously come forward with her account of the meeting. In a video released in July by super PAC American Bridge 21st Century and the Courage Campaign, Goodridge recalls Romney dismissing her concern over what she would tell her daughter if the state overturned her marriage.
"I don't really care what you tell your adopted daughter," Romney allegedly responded. Why don't you just tell her what you've been telling her for the last eight years?"
After President Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage earlier this year, Romney reiterated his belief that marriage is only between a man and a woman.
"If two people of the same gender want to live together, want to have a loving relationship and even want to adopt a child, in my state individuals of the same sex were able to adopt children," Romney said in May. "In my view that's something which people have the right to do, but to call that marriage is ... a departure for the real meaning of that word."
Did the U.S. apologize for the Cairo embassy attack?
Source: CBS News
(CBS News) After a massive crowd of angry Egyptians began amassing outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, furious over an anti-Muslim film produced in the U.S., the embassy there released a statement saying it did not support any anti-religious efforts.
"The Embassy of the United States in Cairo 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 statement began.
Conservatives have pounced on the statement, calling it an "apology," and the White House responded by saying it had not approved the statement before its release.
"The statement by Embassy Cairo was not cleared by Washington and does not reflect the views of the United States government," an administration official told Politico.
It appears the White House was attempting to get ahead of an oft-used conservative trope on Democrats, namely that they have an apparent "apologize first" approach to foreign policy.
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57510951-503544/did-the-u.s-apologize-for-the-cairo-embassy-attack/
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