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Romney Expected To Hear Candid Critiques Of Obama On Global Swing
Tweet Share on Facebook July 25, 2012 CommentMitt Romney vows to avoid publicly bashing President Barack Obama during his first overseas trip as the presumptive GOP presidential nominee—but what he will likely say behind closed doors is another matter.
Romney will be in London for the opening of the Olympic Games, then will head to Poland and Israel as he temporarily focuses on global affairs after focusing almost exclusively on the U.S. economy and jobs for months.
Romney and his top political advisers have consciously chosen to focus on domestic issues and largely ignore national security and foreign policy issues, says one GOP source who has advised the campaign.
"This is an economic election," says the GOP source. "Right now, it's all about the economy."
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F-22 Ready for Duty: Jets Headed to Backyard of China, North Korea
Tweet Share on Facebook July 24, 2012 CommentSending a message to America's would-be foes in Asia, senior Pentagon officials have declared the F-22 fighter ready for duty and soon will send a squadron to Japan.
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Pressure Intensifies for Assad To Flee Syria
Tweet Share on Facebook July 24, 2012 CommentAmid reports Bashar al-Assad's forces have deployed war planes against rebel elements, a powerful White House ally on Capitol Hill says Washington should broker a deal under which the Syrian president would leave the country.
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Obama's Promise to Exempt Veteran's Benefits Is Bad News for Pentagon
Tweet Share on Facebook July 24, 2012 CommentPresident Barack Obama's Monday announcement that he will protect military veterans' retirement and health care benefits drew applause from a VFW audience, but it likely drew a few grimaces among Pentagon and industry leaders.
That's because exempting veterans' benefits from $500 billion in cuts to planned national defense spending over the next decade would shrink the places in the defense budget where cuts could be made. That would mean whatever reductions are enacted will be deeper than if the vets' benefits also were cut under a complicated process known as sequestration.
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Senior Democrat: Some Security Leaks Came From White House
Tweet Share on Facebook July 23, 2012 CommentA senior Senate Democrat lightly-yet-pointedly criticized the Obama White House Monday, saying bluntly that some recent national security leaks appear to have originated at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
"The White House has to understand that some of this is coming from their ranks," Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, said during a forum in Washington.
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Obama Campaign: Romney's Foreign Trip Short on Substance
Tweet Share on Facebook July 23, 2012 CommentObama campaign surrogates Monday hammered Mitt Romney for merely criticizing the president on national security and foreign policy issues rather than offering his own policy prescriptions, challenging the presumptive GOP candidate to do just that on a major overseas trip.
On a conference call Monday with reporters, former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Romney has "not engaged" on foreign and security policies.
During a swing through London, Israel and Poland this week, Romney needs to "prove he believes foreign policy is worthy of substantive discussion and not just sound bites," Gibbs said, adding Obama's foe "owes it to the American people to say where he stands on these issues."
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Department of Defense Issues Statement on Colorado Theater Shooting
Tweet Share on Facebook July 20, 2012 CommentThe Pentagon issued a brief statement Friday in response to the shooting in a Colorado movie theater.
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Three Ways Former SEAL's Super PAC Can Hurt Obama
Tweet Share on Facebook July 20, 2012 CommentHours after Navy SEALs took out Osama bin Laden, President Barack Obama said the commandos "exemplify the professionalism, patriotism, and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country." But one former SEAL-turned-Republican politician doesn't buy it, and he's targeting Obama's re-election bid.
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As Smoke Clears In Syria, Confusion Abounds About Attack
Tweet Share on Facebook July 19, 2012 CommentA Syrian opposition source says there are doubts in the country that a bomb attack killed four senior Syrian officials Wednesday.
Media reports from the region initially called the explosion that killed Assad's defense minister and brother-in-law the work of a suicide bomber. Later reports claimed a bodyguard wearing a suicide vest was responsible. But after Syrian state media outlets ceased referring to the strike as a suicide bombing, it suddenly became unclear just what killed the senior officials.
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GOP Ticket Could Be First in 50 Years With No Foreign Policy Experience
Tweet Share on Facebook July 19, 2012 CommentMitt Romney, a conventional presidential candidate who rarely takes big political risks, is poised to do something historically unconventional and politically risky. The presumptive GOP nominee lacks foreign policy and national security experience, but Romney appears ready to buck the 50-year-old practice of picking a running mate who does.
The former Massachusetts governor, since grinding through a tough GOP primary effort, has run a presidential campaign that has focused almost exclusively on reviving the sluggish U.S. economy and creating jobs. Other than the occasional jab at President Barack Obama, Romney has focused so little on foreign policy and national security issues that even some in his own party wonder how he would manage America's diplomatic and military affairs abroad.
One thing appears certain, a President Romney would rely little on his No. 2 on such issues. Romney reportedly has whittled his vice-presidential short list to three: Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. All are considered "safe picks" by political pundits, and each has the kind of economic and budget-cutting bona fides that could help Romney in an election that so far has been all about the economy and jobs.
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