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Charlie Neibergall / AP
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, left, and vice presidential nominee, Rep. Paul Ryan arrive for a sound check before the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012.
By Karoun Demirjian (contact) 
Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012 | 2 a.m.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Foreign policy wasn’t supposed to matter in this election.
Or at least that’s been the lesson of opinion polls, which for months have shown that voters rank the importance of foreign policy and military issues in this election behind education, immigration, energy, healthcare, and of course, jobs and the economy.
But Mitt Romney’s omission of the U.S. Armed Forces from his presidential nomination acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last month — and his unapologetic defense of that omission last weekend — has opened a new front for Democrats to play offense in 2012 and reclaim strength on an issue Republicans have considered part of their political fiefdom for decades.
As a result, voters are being directly challenged to choose who would do the best job at the presidency’s only constitutional role: commander in chief.
Whoever occupies the Oval Office in 2013 will not only have to preside over an ongoing war in Afghanistan but face the challenges of quelling an increasingly nuclear Iran and calming an increasingly skittish Israel. There’s also defense budget cuts in Congress and cultural changes at the Defense Department.
Neither Romney nor President Barack Obama come to the job with military experience. In fact, it’s the first time since World War II that neither candidate for president is a veteran and the first time in almost 100 years that neither of the vice presidential picks has military experience either.
Romney has tried to paint himself as a champion of “a military that’s so strong, no nation would ever dare to test it,” as he told delegates at the RNC.
Obama, on the other hand, makes the case that he’s a civilian who has already earned his commander’s stripes through “leadership that has been tested and proven.”
President Barack Obama speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012.
“Four years ago, I promised to end the war in Iraq. We did. I promised to refocus on the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11. We have. ... Al-Qaida is on the path to defeat, and Osama bin Laden is dead,” Obama said during his speech at the DNC, before turning to the troops Romney had left out of his.
“We are forever in debt to a generation whose sacrifice has made this country safer and more respected,” Obama said. “We will never forget you.”
Obama left to his deputies and surrogates the task of directly pillorying Romney for omitting even a reference to veterans in his acceptance speech.
By contrast, Vice President Joe Biden called “the incredible debt” owed to the nearly 6,500 fallen and nearly 50,000 wounded troops. He nearly broke into tears describing “the only truly, sacred obligation we have as a nation — to equip those we send to war and care for them when they come home.”
“No nominee for president should ever fail in the midst of a war to pay tribute to our troops overseas in his acceptance speech,” Sen. John Kerry, the Democrats’ 2004 presidential nominee and a decorated Vietnam War veteran, said to the DNC. “They are on the front lines every day defending America, and they deserve our thanks.”
Romney has refused to apologize for the omission, pointing out that he has expressed his gratitude to the troops on several other occasions, including at an American Legion convention the day before he took the stage at the RNC.
“When you give a speech, you don’t give a laundry list,” Romney told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview last week. “You talk about the things you think are important.”
That statement shocked many Democratic delegates in Charlotte.
“As a Marine, his comment about the military not being important enough to speak about is hurtful,” said Assemblyman Elliot Anderson, a Nevada delegate and one of a group of veterans honored on stage at the Democratic National Convention for their service. Anderson spent four years in the Marine Corps and was in Afghanistan from late 2004 to mid-2005.
“This wasn’t a mere oversight. He made a laundry list of what was important, and vets didn’t make the cut,” Anderson said. “I don’t know Romney can call himself commander in chief when he sets his priorities like that.”
Romney also downplayed his RNC omission of the Afghanistan troops to Fox, saying: “I described in my speech my commitment to a strong military, unlike the president’s decision to cut our military. And I didn’t use the word troops, I used the word military; I think they refer to the same thing.”
Absolutely not, Nevada’s delegates said.
“They (Republicans) love the military. But they treat their soldiers and their G.I.’s, like — my terminology, excuse me — like toilet paper. When you’re finished with them, you just flush 'em away,” said Dick Collins, a Nevada delegate from Las Vegas, who served in the Air Force from 1964 to 1968, spending six months in Vietnam.
“My son, who is only in basic training, he signed a Special Forces contract: He’s going to be where there’s danger his entire career,” said Cynthia Trigg, a Nevada delegate from Douglas County. “(Romney) didn’t mention what he was going to do to help our veterans to help their families. ... We’ve had how many years of war without a break? The least he could have done is thank the troops for what they’ve already done, and that wasn’t even there.”
Nevada Republicans see all that focus and fear stemming from Romney’s speech as a desperate, orchestrated play by Democrats for votes.
“Clearly the Democrats are trying to make an effort to make gains among the military and veterans’ groups because candidly, they’ve run way behind in both of those categories over the years,” said former Nevada Gov. Bob List, a Republican. “We’re not neglecting them (the troops). I can’t imagine that (Romney) intended what he said to be twisted around to mean that troops aren’t important. The Democrats would like to do that.”
“Clearly (Romney) appreciates and knows the military. ... I’m confident that they’re going to stick with us,” List said. “We understand the military, and we have a historical record that they can’t begin to match. But we certainly need to drive it home.”
Republicans have been doing just that, with the aid of many long military résumés that have recently come together to throw water on Obama’s performance on defense — especially when it comes to the bin Laden raid and the intelligence leaks that followed.
“Mr. President, you did not kill Osama bin Laden; America did,” Navy SEAL Ben Smith said in a mini-documentary by a political group called OpSec, which has strong Republican ties. With the help of former military and intelligence officials with strong Republican ties, the group recently produced a 22-minute takedown of Obama’s military achievements and policy.
“I believe that a 10-year-old would be able to understand that if you disclose how we got there, how we took down the building, what we did, how many people were there, that it’s going to hinder future operations and certainly hurt the success of those future operations for DOD, for the military, for the intelligence community and everybody as a whole,” said Scott Taylor, another Navy SEAL featured in the production.
Democrats are trotting out their own military surrogates, including famous ones, to make the case that Obama is not just the better choice for veterans but the better choice on military strategy.
“9/11 happened and we went into a war we didn’t need in Iraq. Barack Obama got us out of that war,” Ret. Gen. Wesley Clark said in an interview with the Sun. “He’s now taken us down in a reasonable, measured, correct way to get out of Afghanistan. ... He’s got the kind of strategic leadership we need for national security.
“With Romney, I get nothing but Cold War truisms … there’s no logic to that,” Clark said. “And on Afghanistan, he hasn’t articulated a clear policy.”
Indeed, both candidates likely will need such testimonials to win over veterans wary of trusting someone who hasn’t also served.
“Politicians will say anything to get elected or reelected … in times of conflict, the only people you can trust are your comrades-in-arms,” said Collins, who said he paid special attention to the speech Tammy Duckworth, a veteran who lost her legs and the use of an arm in Iraq, made about Obama. “I would say by someone like Tammy recommending Barack Obama for president to a veteran, I think it means a lot.”
“I’m a veteran, and it’s not a big deal to me,” said Michael Greedy, a delegate from Carson City, who was in the Air Force during Vietnam. “If you’ve been shot at, that doesn’t make you a better manager.”
But though Democrats are using Romney’s slip to trot out more military-minded surrogates to seize the moral high ground, it is not clear that the week’s events are any more than a distraction.
“President Obama has done quite a good job of neutralizing the ability of Republicans to criticize him,” said Peter Hanson, a political science professor from the University of Denver in Colorado. “But even though they have a natural advantage, it’s a hard one for them to exploit this year. Voters are just too interested in the economy.”
Talk is cheap. Obama has been giving money away in all these phone entitlement programs. As Commander in Chief Obama has cut the amount of money spent directly on soldier's armor. Ask any defense contractor and they will tell you that appropriations for tanks and ammunition have been cut substantially. Obama is a hack Chicago politician and we will always remain so. I made a mistake voting for him last time and I am not going to repeat the mistake again. The conventions for both political parties are an excuse to have great parties. They are a waste of time.
Democrats soundly rejected military experience when they rejected McCain.
Obama took over a year to may the call to shoot OBL in the head. Valarie Jarrett and Joe Bidden both told him not to go in delaying the hit.
Clinton said anyone would have done it
Obama never praised the Bush era intelligence
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Romney did talk about the troops at the convention
Is Obama trying to be a warmonger now
A Romney/Ryan administration will cut Veterans health care, and you ignorant Romney supporters who say you "Support the Troops" expect us Veterans to vote for that??
Forget it......
And Obama has RAISED the Defense budget to it s highest level ever, you Romney kool-aid drinkers crack me up..
:-)))
"We've had how many years of war without a break?" - Cynthia Trigg.
The Iraq War was more costly than World War II in 2012 dollars and Romney sees no end to military confrontation. He is ready to build missile silos on Russia's border and dare them to do something about it. Military support of Mitt Romney won't change a thing Cynthia.
Romney, the Quintessential draft dodger who taught his family the tricks of the trade will be ready to raid Social Security to pay for his expeditionary forces to antagonize the super powers of the World.
China loaned the U.S. more money to pay for the Iraq War than any other country in the World. It will be interesting to watch the results when Romney tries to do the same while "standing up" with his "no apologies" theme to the Chinese Navy.
Ho, hum. Another Dumbocratic ploy to divert the unwitting from Osama Obama's putrid record. Osama Obama & his fellow travelers cannot talk about the economy, jobs, endless deficits, forclosures, and a $16 trillion debt, so they try to change the subject to any meaningless or trivial subject. Let the cretin run on his putrid record and he's a goner. He knows it. The Dumbocrats know it. And their undies turn brown when they are confronted with it.
Latest polls indicate Obama with a 4 point lead. I don't think the republicans get it. They will lose this election...again. Come election day they'll be in here screaming and yelling Osama Obama or whatever nonsense name calling and truly never understand why they continue to lose ground. Once republicans start looking at the problem and adjust their ways..maybe then they'll put up an electable candidate.
I saw the floor of the republican convention...angry older white men as far as the eye could see. I gather the same on this board. Maybe another presidential loss will see some change in their attitudes. As I said, I predict a lot of hostility and anger here in November when the numbers come in. Republicans better start asking why they continue to lose.
this is what happens when campaigns become a series of sound bites. one side berates the other for not mentioning god. the latter fires back for not mentioning the troops. hundreds of millions of dollars are spent trying to out sound bite each other. and substantive, relevant, useful political discussion is all but lost. what a sad waste of time.
Maybe the two candidates can get together at a beer summit and BBQ pork roast.
The GOP doesn't care about the soldiers, only the defense contractors that give 'em their donations!
cbarrious:
Blame those "sound bites" on the media, both print and on television. I truly believe they pick out the most "tantalizing" bites and go with it. That's why Romney has so many followers - the media has made him the Messiah of our government and he will cure everything in 6 months. And of course, most of these followers never bother to do any research. Just believe.
Not saying the Democrats are any better either. But most "mentally disturbed liberals" (their term) know better than to believe everything they read and hear from both parties.
Det_Munch you really don't believe what you said in your post that Libs don't believe everything they read or hear. Obviously you don't read these post very much, or at least comprehend what these people think.
While these two meet at their beer/pork summit they can address selective service registrations, draft dodging and bowing to foreign kings.
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/n...
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/06/27/...
Wow! Here we go again....The president with no record going after this little tidbit. Kinda like the race card....Is this the best you can do....Lets talk about jobs and the sputtering economy! Knock off the petty crap! Lets get real about fixing the problem! And FIX IT!
When it comes to national security, republicans have their heroes but it's not the lowly troops of our armed forces. No, republicans idolize the CEOs of weapons makers and don't have much empathy for those grunts on the ground involved in actual combat.
Dick Cheney is the perfect example. As vice president he was a tough talking hawk, willing to send troops into combat for no real reason. Yet when it was his turn to serve his country Cheney moved heaven and earth to avoid going to Vietnam, using five deferments to stay stateside and lead fellow cowards in pro-war demonstrations.
Anyway, nothing to see here folks. Romney not mentioning the war in Afghanistan and the men and women serving there should be expected. After all, he was once a conscientious objector who went on a church mission to Paris rather than fight in Vietnam alongside America's true heroes.
Cheney, Clinton, Gingrich, Romney...none of these guys wanted to go to Vietnam and they did what they could (or what their religion allowed) to avoid going into the jungles. The problem is that likely none of them realized in doing so it was going to follow them thru public office...and it should. There were a lot of people who didn't want to go and they went. There were also some who didn't have to go but tried to contribute in other ways. Then you have the four listed above who didn't want to go to Vietnam under any circumstance and used "loopholes" to get out.
Obama's grandfather served in the military, for 10 generations there has not been a Romney who has served. A flock of chicken hawks...when time comes it is go on a mission to FRANCE.
RepubliCONs run the country into the ground. Ruinme and Ryan (Joe McCarthy number 2) will continue the Greedy OLD Party historical economic blunders of Hoover, Nixon, Reagan, and Bush 1 & 2. One should be embarrassed to belong to the GOP IDIOTS. The Party of 3rd Grade Education and total lack of common sense...
If natural born U.S. citizenship is mandatory to run for POTUS? Time to add to that criteria; at least ONE four year term in ACTIVE Military service. 'Nuff said. We have too many rich idiots running for office these days as it is. I bet NONE of them can quote the Bill of Rights in our U.S. Constitution either.
rommel and ryean did mention buidling"the most powerful military in the world." This means "We are in bed with the US weapons manufacturers." (The US is the largest weapons manufacturer in the world and the US biggest export is weapons! That makes the US the biggest KILLING COUNTRY in the world.)
The reason these 2 rich greedy and corrupt politicians did not mention the solders is because they consider solders as "expendables" just like workers are "expendable" to corporations.
Foreign Policy IS HUGE this election.
Just as important as jobs.
AND republicans already failed on foreign policy.
Romney/ryan know nothing about foreign policy.
WE'RE KEEPING OBAMA/BIDEN!!!
Romney would actually be good for the union members. Think about it, Once Romney gets into office you will see plant expansions and new power plants going up. The Canadian pipeline will get approved. These are almost all good union jobs.
NVFisherman.....
Good God man, romney/ryan are anti-union
republicans who helped destroy our middle class.
I wouldn't vote these two clowns for dog catcher.
DEMOCRATS SUPPORT LABOR UNIONS.
AND THE TEAMSTERS UNION SUPPORTS OBAMA/BIDEN!
AND heartless romney tied his own poor dog to the
roof of his car.
Once again Teamster..How many union jobs were lost when Obama, Reid, etc. shut down the Yucca Mountain Project? 200? 1000? How many? Just curious.
Yucca Mountain was a safety DISASTER, Brian.
That dog won't hunt.
Thank God for PRESIDENT OBAMA and
HARRY REID!
Every once in a while I look into this forum and as usual... the regular leftists (obviously no life) are spinning pro obma propaganda. I would rather see how obma received student aid as a foreign national or how he traveled on a foreign passport instead of the usual name calling emitting from leftists. His four years have been a total disaster and all the left can come up with are excuses.
Whose bright idea was it to make Afghanistan an ally?
Clinton "loathed" the military. Everyone seemed to be okay with that.
I don't recall any Republicans calling me a Baby Killer. I'd like to tie a Leftist to the roof of my car.
@Jeanine
"instead of the usual name calling emitting from leftists"
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Aye yi yi. Are you kidding? These boards have been filthy with O'dumba, nobama, Osama Obama, Demosleaze, demorat, communist, Marxist. If there's been anger and name calling the majority has come from the right. Not sure where you have been.
I don't blame Romney for avoiding the very complicated subject of our troops.
It would open a can of worms better left closed.
Now he just looks insensitive.
It is my opinion that is way smarter to sound insensitive rather than pathetic. So Mitt was likely pretty smart to avoid one of his weakest parts of his Resume.
I wonder if he could see Russia from Cape Cod or La Jolla?
Romney made no mention of Accountants either. Should they be offended?
We all provide a service in this country.
Romney is for a strong military. Obama would rather the money be used for entitlement programs. The Chinese and Russians want a weak America.