President Obama was overheard telling Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev that he would have more flexibility in arms-control negotiations after the U.S. presidential election in November. His statement, taken out-of-context was fodder for the Faux ‘News’ squad.
Mitt Romney was asked to comment. Romney said to CNN’s Blitzer: Russia is “without question our No. 1 geopolitical foe” because it “fights every cause for the world’s worst actors.”
Shortly after Romney choked down this plateful of filet-o-sole, the Romneybot sprang into action:
On Tuesday morning, Mitt Romney’s foreign policy team sent an open letter to President Barack Obama—via the National Review Online—that excoriated Obama for his inadvertently recorded comment to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in South Korea. Prior to a press conference, Obama had leaned toward Medvedev and said, “On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this can be solved, but it’s important for him [Prime Minister Vladimir Putin] to give me space.” He added, “This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.” Not shockingly, Romney’s brain trust pounced on the remarks, claiming that the statements “raise questions about whether a new period of even greater weakness and inconstancy would lie ahead if you are reelected. (Mother Jones)“
It didn’t take long for Russia to weigh in on Romney’s comment. The Moscow Times quickly moved on the story:
Officials close to the Kremlin were careful to portray the remark as a fringe position cooked up by Romney’s “neoconservative advisers” during an election campaign and not official U.S. policy.
Another Kremlin-leaning official riffed on Medvedev’s analogy by comparing Romney to the cowboy mascot for Marlboro cigarettes.
“Republicans have decided to play the Marlboro man in how they position themselves on the international stage,” said Alexander Sokolov, head of the Public Chamber’s international affairs working group, RIA-Novosti reported.
Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs, said Russia’s leadership should be flattered that Romney takes them so seriously.
“The United States’ main foe is its failure to understand what’s going on,” he said. “The political and economic rise of Asia, namely China, is far more important than Russia.”
You’ve got to hand it to the Russians, they see Mitt Romney for what he is; which is more than I can say for some of his far right supporters.
Cross posted on: All Things Democrat
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