Libya attack political fallout: Obama as Carter? Romney as Nixon?
In this week鈥檚 political fight over the killing of the US ambassador in Libya, the two presidential candidates are being likened to White House predecessors they鈥檇 just as soon avoid: Barack Obama to Jimmy Carter and Mitt Romney to Richard Nixon.
It鈥檚 hardball campaign politics, of course, less surprising perhaps with the Obama-Carter comparison.
As he was fighting to get re-elected in 1980, Mr. Carter as commander-in-chief had to deal with the Iran hostage crisis 鈥� 52 Americans held for 444 days when militants took over the US Embassy in Tehran. Carter ordered a rescue mission that failed, killing eight US service personnel.
鈥淔or the first time since Jimmy Carter, we鈥檝e had an American ambassador assassinated,鈥� Romney foreign policy adviser Richard Williamson told the Washington Post. (The reference is to Adolph Dubs, US ambassador to Afghanistan, killed in a kidnapping attempt in 1979.)
Other Republicans and conservative commentators weighed in as well with their own Carter comparisons, including Rep. Allen West, Sen. James Inhofe, former UN ambassador (and Romney advisor) John Bolton, and Sean Hannity on Fox News.
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Mr. Romney himself has invoked Carter, as did GOP vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan when he asserted that 鈥渆very president since the Great Depression who asked Americans to send them into a second term could say that you are better off today than you were four years ago, except for Jimmy Carter and for President Barack Obama."
Mr. Carter, of course, lost the 1980 election, and the Romney campaign鈥檚 aim is to see President Obama meet the same political fate.
But in his controversial comments regarding the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya 鈥� that Obama was 鈥渟ympathizing鈥� with the attackers and 鈥渁pologizing for America鈥檚 values鈥� 鈥� Romney himself is being likened to a failed president, the one forced to resign in disgrace.
The main difference, however, is that the comparison is being drawn by a major conservative voice: Peggy Noonan, the Wall Street Journal columnist and former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan.
鈥淗e has not shown that he is a person of original foreign policy thinking,鈥� she said in a Wall Street Journal video. Regarding what many analysts found to be snap and intemperate comments in the middle of a diplomatic crisis that would spread from Egypt and Libya to other countries, she said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel that Mr. Romney has been doing himself any favors.鈥�
Then came the kicker.
鈥淩omney looked聽weak today,鈥� Ms. Noonan said. 鈥淎t one point, he had a certain slight grimace on his face when he was taking tough questions from the reporters. And I thought, 鈥楬e looks like Richard Nixon.鈥欌��
As the week wore on, Noonan wasn鈥檛 the only one on the right critical of Romney鈥檚 attempt to cast the tragedy in Libya 鈥� where Ambassador Christopher聽Stevens and three other embassy employees were killed in what seems to have been a coordinated attack, perhaps with ties to Al Qaeda 鈥� in an overtly political light.
The Romney campaign 鈥減robably should have聽waited,鈥� former US Senator John Sununu said on MSNBC. 鈥淵ou look at the way things unfolded, you look at the timing of it, they probably should have waited."
Mark Salter, senior strategist for Sen. John McCain鈥檚 2008 presidential campaign, wrote on RealClearPolitics: 鈥淚n the wake of聽this violence, the rush by Republicans 鈥� including Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin and scores of other conservative critics 鈥� to condemn [Obama] for policies they claim helped precipitate the attacks is as tortured in its reasoning as it is unseemly in its timing.鈥�
鈥淧oliticians must pander, it goes with the job,鈥� conservative writer David Frum wrote on the Daily Beast. 鈥淏ut they mustn't leave their fingerprints all over their pandering. The Romney campaign's attempt to聽score political points聽on the killing of American diplomats was a dismal business in every respect. Disregarding every other aspect, however, it was graceless and stupid as a matter of politics.鈥�
These days, Republicans love to be likened to (or at least bask in the glow of) Ronald Reagan. So perhaps it鈥檚 worth noting what Mr. Reagan as presidential challenger said during President Carter鈥檚 dark hour when the Iran hostage rescue mission had failed.
鈥淭his is a difficult day for all of us Americans,鈥� Reagan said at a press conference. 鈥淚t is time for us 鈥� to stand united. It is a day for quiet reflection 鈥� when words should be few and confined essentially to our prayers.鈥�
