US blogwatch: Mitt Romney’s outburst over killing of American ambassador to Libya

 
14 September 2012

Foreign crises can trip up presidents seeking re-election — ask Jimmy Carter.

So Mitt Romney seized on the killing of America’s Libyan ambassador: he raged that it was “disgraceful that the Obama administration’s first response was not to condemn attacks but to sympathise with those who waged the attacks,” as Right-wing bloggers went into overdrive.

In fact, Obama’s own line was forthright: “We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act,” plus a couple of destroyers dispatched to the Libyan coast.

Then Romney’s attack was condemned by commentators across the spectrum, most on the lines of MSNBC pundit and former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough on politico.com: “Who told Mr Romney to issue a political broadside against the commander-in-chief the day after a US ambassador was murdered?”

Time’s Mark Halperin called it a “craven and ill-advised” tactical move (thepage.time.com).

Donald Trump provided unintentional hilarity: @realDonaldTrump condemned “cow towing.”

As Toronto Globe and Mail journalist @DougSaunders replied: “Even our livestock are at risk!”

FOLLOWING his triumphant speech last week, Bill Clinton is hitting the road for Obama in five crucial swing states. But what’s this? The New York Post (nypost.com/p/pagesix) says Monica Lewinsky is hawking a tell-all book. Clinton will hope its title isn’t anything like that suggested by conservative wag

@RightInAcademia: “How Government Brought Me to My Knees: The Monica Lewinsky Story.”

Rivals fight it out in a deluge of polls

THE blizzard of opinion polls grows thicker by the day: 34 yesterday alone. There was a flurry of blogosphere reaction to a Rasmussen tracking poll putting Mitt Romney one point ahead for the first time — yet Obama was ahead by six per cent in yesterday’s Gallup daily tracker.

Such national polls in any case mask the situation in the battleground states where the election will be won or lost. Left-leaning blog dailykos.com summarises state and national polls, putting Obama firmly ahead. But even there, there are plenty to choose from: yesterday two polls showed Obama just one per cent ahead in the pivotal state of Ohio.

Taegan Goddard’s politicalwire.com throws up a more intriguing result —58 per cent of Americans believe Obama would beat Romney in a fist fight.

Tax returns to haunt Mitt and Ryan

The row over Romney’s tax returns won’t go away. Yesterday dailybeast.com reported that insiders say he demanded 10 years of tax returns from prospective running mates, including Paul Ryan.

Obama strategist @davidaxelrod crowed: “For Mitt’s VP vetters, 10 yrs tax returns were good for the goose, but they still won’t give America a gander at HIS!” On the same theme, Kanye West raps on new track To The World: “I’m just trying to protect my stacks, Mitt Romney don’t pay no tax” (visit bit.ly/SIsBZW). It hardly seems a principled intervention — and after all, this is a man who in 2009 Obama called a “jackass”.

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