An amateur video promoted by a radical Florida pastor has sparked riots in Libya and Egypt, causing the murder of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and a breach of security at the U.S. embassy in Cairo.
The Romney campaign seized on the violence in Egypt Tuesday, releasing the following statement late last night:
The “first response” Romney is referring to here is a statement from the U.S. embassy in Cairo reading: “The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims – as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions.”
The White House has since rescinded that statement, and U.S. Embassy Cairo tweets using the same language have since been deleted.
While the State Department may have been confused about how to respond to the riots, the Obama campaign knew exactly how to respond to Romney. “We are shocked that, at a time when the United States of America is confronting the tragic death of one of our diplomatic officers in Libya, Governor Romney would choose to launch a political attack,” campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said.
At the time of Romney’s statement, the campaign appears to have only known of one death at the U.S. mission in Libya. News broke later that two State Department officials had been killed, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, as well as two U.S. Marines.
Many Democrats firmly believe that the killing of Osama bin Laden has created a generational opportunity to turn foreign policy into a Democratic Party asset, not the liability it has been. Hence news that Obama has been skipping his daily intelligence briefings. That idea will be tested this week.
From The Washington Examiner
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In Other News
Boston Herald, Hiring survey stings Obama: A survey to be released today finds few employers are planning to hire during the fourth quarter, another blow to President Obama, whose re-election may hinge on whether the economy improves before Election Day.
The Washington Post, Chicago teachers strike places Obama at odds with key part of political base: A strike by 26,000 public school teachers in Chicago that began Monday threatens to place Obama at odds with a critical segment of his political base in the final weeks of a campaign in which he has little margin for error.
USA Today, GM denies losses of $49,000 on every Chevrolet Volt: General Motors is dismissing a media report describing the Chevrolet Volt, its extended-range electric car, as a major money loser. Those reports, the automaker says in a statement, are “grossly wrong.”
The Wall Street Journal, Israel Blasts U.S. Over Iran: The rift between top U.S. and Israeli leaders appeared to deepen Tuesday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leveled the sharpest attacks in years by an Israeli leader against Washington, over differences on how to address Iran’s nuclear program.
The New York Times, Amazon, Forced to Collect a Tax, Is Adding Roots: Amazon is about to lose perhaps its biggest competitive edge — that the vast majority of its customers do not pay sales tax. After negotiations with lawmakers, the company is beginning to collect taxes in California, Texas, Pennsylvania and other states. But Amazon hopes that the warehouses will allow it to provide better service, giving it the ability to up-end the retailing industry in an entirely new way.
Righty Playbook
The Weekly Standard‘s Bill Kristol chides the Romney campaign for calling foreign policy “the president’s turf.”
Paul Moreno on how public unions became so powerful.
National Review‘s Ramesh Ponnuru on Obama’s votes in favor of infanticide.
Lefty PLaybook
Think Progress attacks Romney aide Robert O’Brien for calling foreign policy a distraction.
The Washington Post‘s Ezra Klein argues that U.S. economic conditions favor Obama, not Romney.
Talking Points Memo reports that Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., is not backing off his description of gay Republicans as Uncle Toms.
