Media

Obama Recycles John McCain’s Talking Points in Newest Anti-Romney Attack Ad

In a move that surely infuriated his supporters among Code Pink, President Obama recently decided to use his assassination of Usama bin Laden as a cudgel to beat Mitt Romney. First, there was his controversial attack ad against Romney implying that the latter would have lacked the guts to go after bin Laden. Then, there was his doubling down in a press conference today on the same topic:

Asked about Romney’s comment that anyone would have authorized that mission — “even Jimmy Carter” — Obama told reporters to “take a look at people’s previous statements;” in 2007, Romney criticized Obama for saying he would go into Pakistan to hunt down terrorists.

“I said that I’d go after bin Laden if we had a clear shot at him, and I did,” Obama said during a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

While not citing Romney by name, Obama said: “If there are others who have said one thing and now suggest they’d do something else, then I’d go ahead and let them explain it.

The Obama campaign’s allegation that Romney is soft on terror centers around one quote Romney made in 2007, saying “It’s not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person.”

If this sounds more like the sort of thing President Obama’s last opponent, Arizona Senator John McCain, would have used to beat an opponent, that’s because it is. In point of fact, that very same 2007 quote was used by McCain against Romney in a debate during the 2008 Presidential nomination contest. Fox News has the context, as well as Romney’s clarification:

Romney’s argument was that somebody else would replace bin Laden at the helm of Al Qaeda.

None other than Sen. John McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee who is now defending Romney on the issue, criticized him for the April 2007 statement.

But at an MSNBC debate in May 2007, Romney gave a new explanation.

“Of course we get Usama bin Laden and track him wherever he has to go, and make sure he pays for the outrage he exacted upon America,” Romney said.

Asked if that meant moving heaven and earth, Romney said: “We’ll move everything to get him. But I don’t want to buy into the Democratic pitch that this is all about one person. … It’s more than Usama bin Laden. But he is going to pay, and he will die.”

Here‘s Fox News’ full report on the subject, embedded below:


The Democrats are arguing that this is still a flip flop on Romney’s part, predictably enough. But is it? Romney’s point is solely about the decision to spend money to find bin Laden – it has nothing to do with the decision on whether to kill him. Splitting hairs? Maybe, but on the scale of Republican dovishness, Romney’s argument about bin Laden is scarcely the sort of contrarian, anti-assassination stance that Obama could have used against, say, Rep. Ron Paul.

Comments (40)

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  • G-WHIZ
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 11:19am

    Remember Nancy PeePeelosi : “R E C Y C L- I N G!”

    Report Post »  
  • Unomas712
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 10:38am

    Everything that comes out of his mouth is repeated, regurgitated, read from a teleprompter, recycled from Carter, and it WREAKS of lies, anger and devisive language that I choose not to listen to, but can‘t help it since it’s Obama 24/7 on mainstream media…I fear it’s too late for this country, ashamed it happened on our watch.

    Report Post »  
    • G-WHIZ
      Posted on May 1, 2012 at 11:20am

      This is what the MUTE button looks-like.

      Report Post »  
    • RossPoldark
      Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:05pm

      No wonder why he doesn’t want anyone to see his college transcripts. I bet his GPA is 1.00. I wonder how many times he had to take the BAR exam before he became licensed as a lawyer?

      Report Post »  
  • EqualJustice
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 9:35am

    Hey, if it worked once.. right? NOPE…. it will NOT work again. BYE BYE BO.

    Report Post » EqualJustice  
    • JRook
      Posted on May 1, 2012 at 10:41am

      In point of fact, that very same 2007 quote was used by McCain against Romney in a debate …. So I guess it is honorable and Ok for McCain to point out Romney’s statement but not Obama. No doubt it is the truly intelligent mind that finds a difference.

      Report Post »  
  • davetrav
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 9:35am

    Obama, WHY don‘t you use John Mccain’s latest words of how he knew the election was rigged yet
    it was to late to do anything about it.

    Report Post »  
  • davetrav
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 9:26am

    Obama, WHY don’t you use the words of John Mccain when he just said that he knew the election was rigged near election day , yet he did nothing about it. WHY don’t you tell America how you VOTED
    for all the spending while in congress, and then blamed the GOP as you love to do now. You two faced jerk.

    Report Post »  
    • JRook
      Posted on May 1, 2012 at 12:41pm

      McCain rigged the election by selecting a moron for his VP.

      Report Post »  
  • jujubeebee
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 9:12am

    Won’t this hurt Obama with his base? He cannot possibly think he is going to win anyone over with this? It seems desparate to me to use killing Osama Bin Laden as a campaign lure for votes. Everyone knew that happened so why bring it up. Americans have opinions about Obama already and this is not going to encourage voters to vote for him. People give lip service to it being his accomplishment but it was the Navy Seals who did it. Giving the order was a no brainer. The mititary people probably had to tell Obama it was necessary. He looked like he had no clue sitting in that room watching it. He looked like a scared rabbitt.

    Report Post »  
  • l8e9x
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:34am

    Has this idiot in chief ever had an original thought of his own?

    Report Post » l8e9x  
    • G-WHIZ
      Posted on May 1, 2012 at 11:24am

      Yes!! His Crack-Berry and Soros-teleprompter tells him so… (sung to the tune“yes Jesus loves mee”)

      Report Post »  
  • soybomb315
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:23am

    republicans campaigned in 2004 and 2008 by acting like they were the only ones who could “keep america safe”. they did it because americans are stupid and will fall in line with whatever party makes them feel more paranoid

    what goes around comes around

    Report Post » soybomb315  
  • slvrserfr
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 6:49am

    This just goes to show how much of a washed up sellout Obama has become, he’s run out of ideas of his own and desperate to cling onto any shred of credibility he has left. It must be kind of hard after four consistent years of blatant lies and hypocrisy.

    Report Post »  
  • qpwillie
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 6:38am

    ” First, there was his controversial attack ad against Romney implying that the latter would have lacked the guts to go after bin Laden.”
    —————————–
    What guts? What did 0bama do that he didn’t pretty much have to do? I saw some of the pictures of the raid and I didn’t see 0bama in any of them.

    I hope this is the best 0bama can come up with in this campaign because if it is, we’ll win by a landslide.

    Report Post » qpwillie  
  • poster
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 6:38am

    Can someone at The Blaze find out how many Cabinet meetings have been held since The One was Immaculated?

    Thank you.

    Report Post »  
  • Diane TX
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 3:33am

    I’ve been on Earth for a bunch of decades, and my observation has been that when a Democrat is in Office, the military always gets downsized. The Democrats also always increase spending on social welfare type programs. It’s interesting that neither Clinton or Obama have ever served in the military. Kennedy did. Shouldn’t we consider military experience when electing a President, since they are also the Commander in Chief of all of our armed forces?

    Report Post »  
    • G-WHIZ
      Posted on May 1, 2012 at 11:33am

      J.F.K. reduced taxes, was a [D.]…and was IN OUR militarry?! Wow, and all that ina president, too! Just don’t take “in-duh-military” as a blanket-item Joe-gaffus-a-minuteus Bieden was “military…and JohnKerry…did you know he served in vietnam?(gag, throwup, wipe face on shirt-front and move-on…)

      Report Post »  
  • READRIGHTHERE
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 3:04am

    Yet another example of Romney being accused of flip flopping when in reality his is the most logical and appropriate thing to have said, and when examined closely reveals consistency in his stated opinions and objectives over the span of many years.

    I have stated before and will again. The military machine that found out, and caught up with UBL was put into place and fired up under George Bush. Obama was not daft enough to stop it, and can only be given credit for not saying “No” to the kill opportunity. Hardly a “Courageous” decision. In reality it could have been done smarter and with better results than the mess it created, but the past is now over. And try as he might, Obama can’t win on this issue.

    Those of us on the right do not feel he gets all the credit, and therefore looks like Al Gore bragging about starting the internet. The left are disgusted that their guy went forward with the decision to kill UBL because they don’t believe he truly deserved the instant death penalty, a core belief for most of them.

    Romney was right, as usual, and Obama is obviously maladjusted for the job and should and will be dismissed from his post in January 2013.

    Report Post »  
  • MS-GlenNBC
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 1:51am

    Getting to Know Romney….. Take 10 minutes…. Don‘t say you weren’t warned.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IWDJEc92d38#!

    Romney Obama the Same?

    Report Post » MS-GlenNBC  
  • RougeFastFingers
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 1:14am

    Barry, its a loser, give it up. Nobody is buying that you are a real war dude and mitt is not.

    Report Post » RougeFastFingers  
  • Got2bRoni
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 1:04am

    what is sad is that the dems truly believe that no other Pres would have taken obl out… They are so weak.

    Report Post » Got2bRoni  
  • lassiegirldawn
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 12:53am

    He is like satan, he can’t create, all he can do is copy and lie.

    Report Post »  
  • DE OPPRESSO LIBER
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 12:39am

    Thanks Obummer for keeping Bin Laden in the fight. I know this president will never be locked up for treason, but he needs to go. How did he ever get a security clearance?
    “A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague.”

    Report Post » DE OPPRESSO LIBER  
    • CatB
      Posted on May 1, 2012 at 1:00am

      He couldn’t get a security clearance .. .were he NOT the President … and that came from someone high up.

      Report Post »  
  • zoro51
    Posted on May 1, 2012 at 12:16am

    let me say this ANYNOE IS BETTER THAT THE CURRANT GOD DAMN SOCIALIST WEAK LEADER even a romulan… ones things for sure ROMNEY WONT ALLOW MUSLUMS INTO TEH WHITE HOUSE FOR **** or GIVE milliions ot aid thier towers oif DEATH loke OBAMA HAS or rape out 1 and 2nd amend rights as EVITA OBAMA YAX N SPEECH HAS or GIVE AWAY BACK OT RUSSIA OIL RICH PARTS OF ALASKA.. or be ANTI AMERICAN OIL this SOCIALIST obama has RAPED AMERICA IMPEACH THE BASTARD NOW

    Report Post » zoro51  
    • marine249
      Posted on May 1, 2012 at 12:24am

      I was going to say something.
      But you said it all.

      I agree

      Report Post »  
  • welovetheUSA
    Posted on April 30, 2012 at 11:48pm

    Poor Obama…………..his first term all he had to say was “Yes we can” …..now all he can do is re-hash old lies………cause the lies use to work…….and they still donot work……….you have done nothing but divide this country and with all your communist zars…..hey…….America is stonger than you thought dude and allot smarter than you thought.

    Report Post » welovetheUSA  
    • barber2
      Posted on May 1, 2012 at 12:21am

      yes. One of the biggest secrets he carried was who the “we” really was ! His radical past and his radical friends were so hidden…like his school records..a man who was “sold” to the public by the anti-capitalist / anti-American media and “ friends” from whence he , so stealthily, came …. like a “drone” on American capitalism…

      Report Post »  
  • cuinsong
    Posted on April 30, 2012 at 11:39pm

    Fact is he had to authorize the raid or he would have been seen as a weak leader and he would never have a chance of getting re-elected. If objections were raised I would bet it was him doing the objecting.

    Report Post » cuinsong  
  • cuinsong
    Posted on April 30, 2012 at 11:25pm

    The fact is that if NObama would not have authorized that raid he would have been run out of town on a rail. I would bet that any objections that were voiced about making the raid were his.

    Report Post » cuinsong  
  • Mutiny
    Posted on April 30, 2012 at 11:25pm

    I have no doubt given the chance any sitting president would have ordered that strike. A more important question is why are we still in Afghanistan? Both of these guys are for keeping troops there. Unless we are going to start mining those mountains I have zero interest in that country. Leave and let them rot.

    Report Post » Mutiny  
  • MCDAVE
    Posted on April 30, 2012 at 11:21pm

    like his birth certificate,i have not seen any evidence that he got Bin Laden…He chose to keep that from us..Barry has consistently lied to us about everything…

    Report Post »  
    • TelepromoterNChief
      Posted on May 1, 2012 at 12:01am

      After his victory lap/ photo shoot with the real heroes, they too were no more to be seen.

      Report Post »  
    • barber2
      Posted on May 1, 2012 at 12:08am

      His past. His presidency. All seem like some Hollywood extravaganza. So much hype. So little fact. All surface. No substance. 99% hooey. Who is behind that curtain ?

      Report Post »  
  • The-Monk
    Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:50pm

    Dear Blaze Staff,

    Do you have any videos of Obama saying he’d take out Bin Laden from back in 2007? Not 2009 to 2011 but, back in 2007 when he was a Senator. I don’t see him saying that as a Senator.
    Thanks,

    The-Monk

    Report Post » The-Monk  
    • poster
      Posted on May 1, 2012 at 6:48am

      Do you mean for those days as a senator that he no-showed for votes? He was probably on vacation or golfing.

      Report Post »  
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