Romney attacks Obama on foreign policy

9 Oct 2012, 9:25 am   -   Source: AAP

The risk of conflict in the Middle East has grown under President Obama's leadership, says Romney in a new focus on foreign policy.

RELATED

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has assailed Barack Obama's foreign policy in a speech, saying the risk of conflict in the Middle East has grown under the president's leadership.

With Monday's speech at the Virginia Military Institute, Romney hopes to undo a string of foreign policy stumbles, taking aim at an issue where polls show President Barack Obama holds a clear lead.

Saying there is "a longing for American leadership in the Middle East", Romney called for the US to take a more assertive role in Syria. He also wants new conditions on aid to Egypt and would impose tighter sanctions on Iran.

With the race growing tighter after Obama's poor performance in last week's presidential debate - the first of three - Democrats and Republicans now are looking to Thursday's debate confrontation between Vice-President Joe Biden and Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan.

And all in all both tickets are bearing down on their attempts to draw in the small percentage of voters who remain undecided in fewer than 10 states, with Iowa, Ohio, Virginia and Florida all set for candidate visits this week.

The US president is not elected by the nationwide popular vote, but in a series of state-by-state contests.

In an election-year display of incumbent's power, Obama on Monday declared a national monument at the home of Latino labour leader Cesar Chavez, the United Farmworkers Union founder who died in 1993. That is designed as an open appeal to Hispanic voters in swing states, before the president moves from Los Angeles to San Francisco for more fundraising.

Romney intended his foreign policy speech as a vehicle to send tough signals on Iran and Syria and portray Obama as weak for his administration's changing explanation for the deadly attacks on the US consulate in Libya.

The Obama campaign was hit back in advance.

"We're not going to be lectured by someone who has been an unmitigated disaster on foreign policy," Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

Voters give Obama higher marks than Romney on questions of national security and crisis response, but world affairs in general are a distant priority compared with the struggling US economy, polling shows. Nevertheless, Romney's speech at Virginia Military Institute seeks to broaden his explanation of how he would serve as commander in chief.

After polls recently suggested Obama had narrow leads in several swing states, the Romney campaign says the race is tightening following his strong performance in last week's debate. To help maintain his momentum, Romney has tweaked his message over the last week, highlighting his compassionate side and centrist political positions.

Obama engaged in a bit of self-deprecation in his Los Angeles fundraising appearance on Monday, taking a good-natured shot at his own underwhelming debate performance last week, marvelling at how his friends in the entertainment business could turn in flawless showings every time.

"I can't always say the same," Obama said of his debate performance, compared to those of his entertainment business friends. He spoke to thousands of supporters who got the joke. It was Obama's most direct acknowledgment that Romney won their debate as the campaign entered its final month.

Obama appeared on stage after comments by actor George Clooney and performances by Katy Perry, Stevie Wonder and Jon Bon Jovi - and before a night-capping dinner for 150 guests at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant at $US25,000 ($A24,732) per person.

Even as Romney sought to reap further rewards from his debate performance, a string of good news for the president threatened to steal the former Massachusetts governor's spotlight.

A jobs report on Friday showing unemployment at the lowest levels of Obama's presidency, down to 7.8 per cent, was quickly followed Saturday by a fundraising report showing Obama and Democrats had raised $US181 million in September.

It was their best fundraising month of the campaign but fell short of their record $US190 million raised in September 2008 as the president campaigned for his first term.

Romney's campaign has not released its report for the month, and Republicans sought to downplay Obama's financial advantage. The party's national chairman, Reince Priebus, said he had been counting all along on being outraised by Obama and Democrats.

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube