Extreme & Untrue': Obama Camp Hits Back After Romney Says We Need A New President to 'Commit to a Nation Under God

On Saturday, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney seized upon the Democrats' biggest convention-week gaffe (i.e. removing "God" from the party's official platform) when he pledged, if elected, to put the nation back "under God." The White House and the Obama campaign subsequently reacted strongly to Romney's words, dismissing his comments and calling some of his allegations "absurd."

Romney was speaking at a military museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia, when he issued his strongly-worded commentary about bringing America back to God, The Christian Post reports. Using the DNC's party platform slip-up, he reaffirmed his belief that America is "a nation under God" and said that the country needs a new president to ensure a strong adherence to and recognition of these values.

"We believe in a nation under God, a nation indivisible, a nation united, a nation with justice and liberty for all," he said, reciting a portion of the Pledge of Allegiance.

He then went on to highlight the need for a new leader to take the helm.

"And for that to happen, we're going to have to have a new president that will commit to getting America working again; that will commit to a strong military; that will commit to a nation under God that recognizes that we the American people were given our rights not by government but by God himself," he said.

Romney said he wouldn't "take God out of the name of our platform," that he won't remove the Lord from coins -- and that God will remain a part of his heart. The candidate also claimed that the U.S. is "bestowed by God." While he used the platform removal as a basis on which to attack Obama, this wasn't the only issue at play.

Watch the entire speech, below:

Romney also pledged not to go around the world, apologizing for America's past transgressions -- something that Obama has been criticized by conservatives for doing in the past. He also pledged to keep a strong military, should he be elected.

Obama's campaign quickly responded to the address, calling Romney's words into question and claiming that he was engaging in "extreme and untrue attacks against the president." A spokeswoman also accused the candidate of "associating with some of the most strident and divisive voices in the Republican Party."

On Sunday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney got in on the action, too, claiming that Romney's remarks are "absurd." He took particular aim at Romney's mention of God on currency, saying, "The president believes as much that God should be taken off a coin as he does that aliens will attack Florida."

"It’s an absurd question to be raised," he added.

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Related:

• CNN’s Don Lemon Challenges Wasserman Schultz on DNC’s God, IsraelPlatform Changes
• ‘A Lot of Ado About Nothing’: Villaraigosa Defends ‘God’ Vote at the DNC
• Prominent Atheists Lash Out at DNC‘s Reinstatement of ’God’: ‘Precisely What Our Founders Aimed to Avoid’