Can someone explain Romney's speech?

[MalD73]

Just for us foreigners, can someone explain what Mitt Romney meant in his speech after winning the latest primaries when he said something like 'America will not apologize abroad' as its sounds a bit like 'we're going to do what we like and tough luck if you don't like it'. Not exactly what you might call diplomatic! Oh, and also, after he made this comment it sounded like what can only be described as a warehouse full of angry baboons had been released into the auditorium, screaming and grunting like they hadn't been fed for a week or two. Was this in fact the case or was it merely 'canned' baboon?

[I'm JewCon in name only.]

I'm loving Mitt lately on foreign policy.


Just wanted to add my opinion in! lol. I didn't listen to the speech (I was out and about during the results)

so i cant really help XD

[Ebowed]

It's just his way of adopting the rhetoric frequently used against Obama (and other Democrats) that they are guilty of 'apologizing for America.'  It is supposed to suggest weakness, as admitting to mistakes in foreign policy is frowned upon by the intended audience.

[memphis]

Not much to explain. I think you understand perfectly.

[MalD73]

He does seem to be a bit scary! Never seen Fox news channel before but have become fascinated by it since coming to Asia for a while (don't know if they show it back home). Is it meant to be real or is it some kind of comedy channel that the rest of us don't get?

[JulioMadrid]

President Romney would be worse than President Bush. It means that.

[politicus]

It is for real. A lot of people actually believe it is "fair and balanced" and that the "mainstream" media are the ones that are biased.

[MalD73]

Surely that can't be right? I've been watching AlJazeera, BBC World, Australia Network and the local Thai news as well as Fox and the first four seem to broadly correspond in their reporting whereas Fox seems to just be making it up! Is this popular in America or is it just a 'lunatic fringe' channel?

[I left.]

Just for us foreigners, can someone explain what Mitt Romney meant in his speech after winning the latest primaries when he said something like 'America will not apologize abroad' as its sounds a bit like 'we're going to do what we like and tough luck if you don't like it'. Not exactly what you might call diplomatic! Oh, and also, after he made this comment it sounded like what can only be described as a warehouse full of angry baboons had been released into the auditorium, screaming and grunting like they hadn't been fed for a week or two. Was this in fact the case or was it merely 'canned' baboon?

You've described it quite accurately.

[I left.]

Surely that can't be right? I've been watching AlJazeera, BBC World, Australia Network and the local Thai news as well as Fox and the first four seem to broadly correspond in their reporting whereas Fox seems to just be making it up! Is this popular in America or is it just a 'lunatic fringe' channel?

It's a serious news source, and understood to be that, for and by a significant portion of Americans (I dunno...30%?). For others, it's more of a joke organization. Don't think there is much in between.

[MalD73]

So is there a sort of 'far-left' leading equivalent? Which channel has the least biased coverage? What's CNN like? Sorry to keep asking questions but I'm quite intrigued!!

[argentarius]

So is there a sort of 'far-left' leading equivalent? Which channel has the least biased coverage? What's CNN like? Sorry to keep asking questions but I'm quite intrigued!!

In my experience MSNBC is by far the most democratic station (apart from morning joe). CNBC is republican and obviously fox too but other than that it's fairly unbiased.

[Keystone Phil]

Oh, you aren't taking issue with the silliest parts of the speech ("a nation of big steppers!"). Ok. Carry on.

[Yelnoc]

So is there a sort of 'far-left' leading equivalent? Which channel has the least biased coverage? What's CNN like? Sorry to keep asking questions but I'm quite intrigued!!

MSNBC tries to be like Fox for the left-wing, but fail rather miserably.  CNN is the most unbiased, in my opinion, however they have issues with their programming.  If Fox has one thing going for it, it is their ability to pounce on new and interesting stories quickly.  CNN always seems behind the curve to me.  However, I get most of my news from BBC, Al Jazeera, and articles I find on forums, so I might be unintentionally biased.

[Oakvale]

Well, Romney has no foreign policy experience, and no actual opinions on foreign policy, and is running against an incumbent with a highly successful track record on foreign policy.

Thus, his "platform" consists of meaningless memes he made up - "apologising for America durr" and vapid John Wayne platitudes about freedom.

As Hashemite put it: "America is a beacon of freedom. That s my foreign policy platform."

[Democratic Hawk]

Well, Romney has no foreign policy experience, and no actual opinions on foreign policy, and is running against an incumbent with a highly successful track record on foreign policy.

Thus, his "platform" consists of meaningless memes he made up - "apologising for America durr" and vapid John Wayne platitudes about freedom.

As Hashemite put it: "America is a beacon of freedom. That s my foreign policy platform."

Given the damage done by the Bush 43 presidency to America's international standing, far from that of an apologst, the Obama presidency is more that of a restorationist

[Purch]

Well, Romney has no foreign policy experience, and no actual opinions on foreign policy, and is running against an incumbent with a highly successful track record on foreign policy.

Thus, his "platform" consists of meaningless memes he made up - "apologising for America durr" and vapid John Wayne platitudes about freedom.

As Hashemite put it: "America is a beacon of freedom. That s my foreign policy platform."

Given the damage done by the Bush 43 presidency to America's international standing, far from that of an apologst, the Obama presidency is more that of a restorationist

Trust me America's international standing is no better under Obama. In fact our foreign policy (especilly in the middle easy) Over the past 5 presidencies is ridiculous.

[Mitt Romney's Hair]

Well, Romney has no foreign policy experience, and no actual opinions on foreign policy, and is running against an incumbent with a highly successful track record on foreign policy.

Thus, his "platform" consists of meaningless memes he made up - "apologising for America durr" and vapid John Wayne platitudes about freedom.

As Hashemite put it: "America is a beacon of freedom. That s my foreign policy platform."

What!?

Firstly, you do realize that Obama has zero foreign policy credentials when he took office, right? Basically, that invalidates your whole Romney foreign policy criticism right there as you believe Obama has done well with foreign policy.

Secondly, Obama has high(er) ratings on foreign policy/terrorism issues, but that's not to suggest he's been successful. The right hate how he engaged us in Libya, and the left wasn't too best pleased, either. Frankly speaking, that was an utter mess how he handled it - wavering on our objective throughout.

Speaking of wavering, he did the same thing in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood are about to take over.

Then there's the Afghanistan mess he has muddled further.

He's also isolated Israel. Ignored, for the most part, Iran. Sold out Poland on missile defense. And engaged in shady appeasement with the Russians.

If you think this amounts to his doing well in foreign policy issues, fine, but the facts speak otherwise.

[Mitt Romney's Hair]

Well, Romney has no foreign policy experience, and no actual opinions on foreign policy, and is running against an incumbent with a highly successful track record on foreign policy.

Thus, his "platform" consists of meaningless memes he made up - "apologising for America durr" and vapid John Wayne platitudes about freedom.

As Hashemite put it: "America is a beacon of freedom. That s my foreign policy platform."

Given the damage done by the Bush 43 presidency to America's international standing, far from that of an apologst, the Obama presidency is more that of a restorationist

Not quite. A lot of the world's opinion of the United States has decreased further in the Obama years.

http://aai.3cdn.net/5d2b8344e3b3b7ef19_xkm6ba4r9.pdf

"Most surprisingly, Obama’s approval ratings are even lower than President Bush’s before he left office in 2008. They dropped from 26 percent to 12 percent in Morocco, 9 percent to 5 percent in Egypt, 16 percent to 10 percent in Jordan and 22 percent to 12 percent in the UAE (though they did improve in Saudi Arabia, and tick up slightly in Lebanon).

Obama’s unique background was supposed to make him a prime candidate to improve the relationship between the U.S. and the Arab world. But more than halfway through his first term, not only has there been no progress, it looks like relations are worse than before."

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/07/13/obama%E2%80%99s-popularity-in-arab-world-now-lower-than-bush%E2%80%99s/

Facts - they truly are a wonderful thing.....

[Paul Kemp]

I'm still waiting for the examples of President Obama apologizing for the United States abroad.

[politicus]

I suppose the tremendous expectations to Obama led to dissapointment, which made people in generally anti-American countries distrust America even more. Kind of "if this is the best they got, they must truly be a horrible people".

[Mitt Romney's Hair]

I'm still waiting for the examples of President Obama apologizing for the United States abroad.

"People of Berlin, people of the world, this is our moment. This is our time. I know my country has not perfected itself. (cheers) At times we struggle to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people, we’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions."

and

“… America was not born as a colonial power,” he told the Arab viewing audience – implying we are now. And he regretfully confessed, “We sometimes make mistakes. We are not perfect.”

Just two examples out of many. Does he ever say the word "apologize" ? No. But it's greatly implied.....

[Paul Kemp]

I'm still waiting for the examples of President Obama apologizing for the United States abroad.

"People of Berlin, people of the world, this is our moment. This is our time. I know my country has not perfected itself. (cheers) At times we struggle to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people, we’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions."

and

“… America was not born as a colonial power,” he told the Arab viewing audience – implying we are now. And he regretfully confessed, “We sometimes make mistakes. We are not perfect.”

Just two examples out of many. Does he ever say the word "apologize" ? No. But it's greatly implied.....

Is that really the best you have?

[TJ in Wisco]

I'm still waiting for the examples of President Obama apologizing for the United States abroad.

"People of Berlin, people of the world, this is our moment. This is our time. I know my country has not perfected itself. (cheers) At times we struggle to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people, we’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions."

and

“… America was not born as a colonial power,” he told the Arab viewing audience – implying we are now. And he regretfully confessed, “We sometimes make mistakes. We are not perfect.”

Just two examples out of many. Does he ever say the word "apologize" ? No. But it's greatly implied.....

Is that really the best you have?

Like it or not, there are a lot of people out there who do interpret that as an apology. The reason why President Obama is particularly susceptible is that he has a foreign-sounding name, was supported by foreigners more enthusiastically than Americans, and began his rise to power as an anti-war candidate. Add in the birthers and there you go: foreign/anti-American Obama theme.

In reality, the mainstream part of both parties have pretty much the same foreign policy views so semantic differences like these drive voters more than they should.

[PASOK Leader Hashemite]

Loving the grasping at straws by the Mitthacks here.