Romney, Bachmann raise fears of nuclear catastrophe in Middle East if Obama reelectedhttp://nationaljournal.com/cbs-nj-foreign-policy-debate/republicans-channel-dick-cheney-in-nj-cbs-foreign-policy-debate-20111112The 2012 election is increasingly shaping up as a redux of 2004.
At Friday’s “commander-in-chief’’ debate, Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney seemed to be channeling former Vice President Dick Cheney, who warned in 2004 of another terrorist attack if voters didn’t give President Bush a second term.
“If we re-elect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon,’’ Romney said at the outset of the debate sponsored by National Journal and CBS News that focused on foreign policy. “If we elect Mitt Romney, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.’’
Romney’s jarring prediction demonstrated that the GOP is not abandoning its traditional line of attack against the Democratic Party. Even at a time when voters’ biggest worry is the economy and President Obama boasts some bragging rights on foreign policy, Romney and his rivals are poised to tar the Democratic administration as soft on national security.