The Washington Post is hitting President Obama for comparing Republican critics of the administration’s deal with Iran to extremists chanting “death to America.”
In an editorial published Tuesday night, the Post said Obama’s attacks on his critics, which includes Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, imply “a lack of confidence” in the U.S. negotiations with Iran to curb the country’s nuclear development program.
“The contrast is striking between the president’s tone today and his 2008 speech accepting the Democratic nomination,” the Post wrote. “Looking ahead to debating his GOP opponent, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), he pledged that ‘what I will not do is suggest that the senator takes his positions for political purposes, because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other’s character and each other’s patriotism.'”
Of Obama’s more recent remarks on the Iran deal, the Post noted, “There’s a sad progression from that aspiration to an approach that is all about winning, even if it has to be winning ugly.”
Last week, Obama promoted the deal with Iran, which critics say will embolden the country’s hostilities toward the U.S. and Israel, by saying opponents of the deal have things in common with the hardliners in Iran. “It’s those hard-liners who are most comfortable with the status quo,” Obama said. “It’s those hard-liners chanting ‘Death to America’ who have been most opposed to the deal. They’re making common cause with the Republican caucus.”
Schumer, who is likely to be the next Senate majority leader after Harry Reid retires, has said he will not vote in favor of the deal when it is put in front of Congress. On Tuesday, Schumer said that economic sanctions against Iran would be more effective than the administration’s deal. “We have that powerful tool, and if used, I think that’s a better, better chance in a very difficult world than an agreement that is so totally flawed,” he said, according to CBS News.
