Fear of the Other': Krauthammer Breaks Down Why Obama's Attacks Might Be Working

President Obama has laid siege to Mitt Romney's business record and his wealth using practically every tool in the Democratic playbook. And if the polls are any guide, it's at least imposing a ceiling on Romney's poll numbers, and may be giving Obama an edge in key swing states that depend on domestic manufacturing to stay afloat. Romney's responses, meanwhile, are seen by some insiders as being excessively meek and contentless.

And that, according to Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer, is essentially the problem. Speaking with Bret Baier tonight, Krauthammer argued that President Obama has engaged in a systematic campaign to make people afraid of foreigners, or to cultivate, as he put it, "fear of the other." And Krauthammer was not afraid to note the irony of that tactic, given that it's a tactic conservatives have been accused of using against President Obama for some time.

"There is a point to this outsourcing argument," Krauthammer said. "It plays to the fear of the other. The irony is that it's Obama who's playing to this fear when he's the one who pointed out in 2008 how that's a result of bitterness."

Krauthammer is referring to this statement by President Obama in 2008 (emphasis added):

It's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

The irony, as you can see, is rather strong. Watch this clip of the Fox panel involved, including Krauthammer's analysis, below, courtesy of Mediaite: