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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRomney’s 2007 Bin Laden Gaffe Comes Back To Haunt Him
The Obama campaign isnt shy about using the raid that killed Osama bin Laden as a political cudgel. But the White Houses record may get a boost from the GOPs choice of nominee, whose previous presidential campaign included a spat with fellow Republicans over the relative unimportance of catching the Al Qaeda leader.
In the campaigns first major election speech on first policy, Vice President Joe Biden made extremely prominent use of an April 2007 Romney quote on bin Laden, in which he told the Associated Press its not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person.
I was a little more direct, Biden said in his speech. We will follow the SOB to the gates of hell.
Romneys heaven and earth line proved a gaffe at the time as well. Sen. John McCain, who tried to portray Romney throughout the race as weak on national security, told blogger Jennifer Rubin that it takes a degree of naiveté to think bin Laden is not an element in the struggle against radical Islam.
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/romneys-2007-bin-laden-gaffe-comes-back-to-haunt-him.php?ref=fpa
Larkspur
(12,804 posts)Skinner
(63,645 posts)Them: its not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person.
Us: We will follow the SOB to the gates of hell.
Robb
(39,665 posts)Now that Romney's the apparent candidate, there's zero downside to loosing the leash.