SUNDAY SHOWS: Republicans Tee Off on Libya

On Sunday's political talk shows, several Republicans criticized the Obama administration's response to the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. Here's Senator John McCain of Arizona on CBS's Face the Nation:

You know, this administration is very good at touting and giving all the details like when they got Bin Laden. But now, we know that there were tapes, recordings inside the consulate during this fight, and they've gotten—they came—the F.B.I. finally got in and took those, and now they're classified as "top secret." Why would they be top secret? So the president went on various shows, despite what he said he said in the Rose Garden, about terrorist acts, he went on several programs, including "The View" including "Letterman" including before the U.N., where he continued to refer, days later, many days later, to this as a spontaneous demonstration because of a hateful video. We know that is patently false. What did the president know? When did he know it? And what did he do about it?

McCain said for "literally days and days" the White House "told the American people something that had no basis in fact whatsoever."

Newt Gingrich, on ABC's This Week:

But the bigger issue is, whether it’s unemployment or it is what happened in Benghazi, where we’ve had this strange situation over the weekend that the Secretary of Defense apparently refused to obey the President’s order, if the president is telling the truth and he actually instructed his assistants to get aid to Benghazi, we're now being told that the Secretary of Defense canceled that. And I think these kinds of things all drag down the Obama campaign.

Ohio senator Rob Portman talked on Fox News Sunday about a "shocking breakdown" with regard to the Obama administration's response:

This is not about politics.  This is about a huge national security issue that affects all of us and there was a shocking breakdown, operationally, not to have the security there in the first place.   And then not to respond to these guys, in their pleas for help for 7 hours, during a firefight.  It’s unbelievable and now, we are hearing that the president of the United States, based on his own words, issued a directive immediately after he found out about the firefight, saying that he wanted to be sure those people on the ground were safe and they were getting what they needed.  It didn't happen.  This means either that the president's order was not followed, which would be a breakdown in terms of the White House procedure, or, it means the order wasn’t issued.  We need to find out about this, it is not about politics, it is a very serious situation.  After the fact, of course, there’s also been a lot of confusion about what happened and why it happened.

Via: Weekly Standard

Continue Reading...

JUST MORE WORDS: Still Not Clear On Second Term Agenda

Team Obama Spends Sunday Morning Being Asked Where And What Is Obama’s Vision For A Second Term?

OBAMA SURROGATES SPENT THEIR SUNDAY MORNING FACING QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT OBAMA WILL DO IN A SECOND TERM

NBC’s David Gregory: “ Has The President Spent More Time Trying To Disqualify Romney As An Alternative Than Affirmatively Saying What A Second Term Would Actually Look Like?” NBC’s DAVID GREGORY: “Generally, the attack that has come on this president from his opposition, from Governor Romney and from Paul Ryan, and you heard it from Senator Rubio, a lack of a second term agenda. Is it fair, that criticism? Has the president spent more time trying to disqualify Romney as an alternative than affirmatively saying what a second term would actually look like?” (NBC‘s “Meet The Press,” 10/21/12)

ABC’s George Stephanopoulos: “Can You Counter It And Lay Out Exactly What President Obama Would Do In A Second Term?” GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: “He seems to be getting some traction with that argument. Can you counter it and lay out exactly what President Obama would do in a second term?” (ABC’s “This Week,” 10/21/12)

• Stephanopoulos: “It Sounds Like What You’re Saying Is That What You Want Is More Of What We Had The Last Four Years.” (ABC’s “This Week,” 10/21/12)

OBAMA HAS HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO GIVE HIS SECOND TERM PLANS BUT VOTERS HAVE BEEN LEFT IN THE DARK

The Washington Post’s Dan Balz: Obama Has Been “Rightly Criticized For Not Being More Specific About His Second-Term Agenda.” “The president has rightly been criticized for not being more specific about his second-term agenda. What economic policies does he have that he hasn’t already tried? What is he truly prepared to do on the deficit?”(Dan Balz, “For Obama and Romney, Monday’s Debate Is Crucial,” The Washington Post, 10/20/12)

• “Having Gone This Far, It’s Not Likely He Will Start Filling In Those Blanks In The Final Two Weeks. He Prefers To Tell Voters Why They Should Fear Romney.” (Dan Balz, “For Obama and Romney, Monday’s Debate Is Crucial,” The Washington Post, 10/20/12)

• Obama Hasn’t Restored “A Sense Of Faith And Optimism About The Next Four Years.” “But what he also hasn’t done yet is restore a sense of faith and optimism about the next four years. That’s what Michael Jones was looking for last week, not merely a recitation of a litany of actions undertaken. It remains a missing piece in the president’s message.” (Dan Balz, “For Obama and Romney, Monday’s Debate Is Crucial,” The Washington Post, 10/20/12)

VIa: GOP.com

Continue Reading...