Nashua, NH Is there a difference between an “arrogant bunker mentality” in diplomacy and an “our way or the highway” attitude in foreign policy? Mitt Romney thinks so. In late December, two weeks before the Iowa caucuses, Mike Huckabee accused the Bush administration of having an “arrogant bunker mentality” in an article published in Foreign Affairs. He wrote: “American foreign policy needs to change its tone and attitude, open up, and reach out. The Bush administration’s arrogant bunker mentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad.” Romney demanded that Huckabee apologize and said this:
Odd, then, that Mitt Romney–not Barack Obama or John Edwards–said this at a house party in New Hampshire on Saturday.
He added:
I don’t have any idea what the checkers/chess stuff means. But it seems clear what’s at work here: Huckabee’s criticism of Bush did not appear to hurt him in Iowa and Romney is furiously repositioning himself as a change agent/Washington outsider. For a candidate dogged of accusations that he has flip-flopped on important positions and is willing to say anything to win, this won’t help. It will be interesting to see if Romney gets a question about this in the debate tonight or tomorrow.
