This Can’t Be True, Can It?

Filed in National by on October 16, 2012

Via TPM:

Richard Williamson is Mitt Romney’s top foreign policy advisor, the guy who orchestrated Romney’s original effort to exploit the attack in Libya before it was even clear the US Ambassador had died. Now he’s saying that Romney will insist Obama “man up” and take responsibility for the Ambassador’s death at tonight’s debate.

There are two reasons why I think Mitt Romney wouldn’t dare try and pull this off.  First, reports from people who were actually in Libya are citing the video as the initial reason they heard for the attack, and second… Mitt uttering the words man up?  Yeah, that would sound natural.

If I were Romney I’d tread carefully here.  He already has parents of fallen embassy officials calling him out for politicizing this tragedy.

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A stay-at-home mom with an obsession for National politics.

Comments (21)

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  1. socialistic ben says:

    I think the administration has preempted this by having Hillary take the blame…. unless Romney will try some sort of jerk-jitz-u by implying Obama lets women-folk fight his battles. I dunno. this country is friggin stupid. It could work.

  2. V says:

    Hilary falling on her sword for the Libya thing is the first actual thing that makes me think she might not run for president after all. She’s too smart to own that otherwise.

  3. socialistic ben says:

    as i said to a buddy yesterday…. maybe she was going to run in 2016, maybe she wasnt… but NOW she wasnt ever going to run.

  4. pandora says:

    I completely disagree that this will lead to Hillary not running, especially since the facts on the ground are not only confirming the video connection but also pointing to what this was all along – Romney politicizing a national tragedy.

    Seriously, guys. Calm down. Liberals are a lot of work. 😉

  5. pandora says:

    One more thing… the only way what Hillary said can be viewed as political death for her is if you’ve bought into the Republican talking points that state that what happened in Libya is a scandal and a cover up.

  6. socialistic ben says:

    Pandora, i read it both times you posted it, and i believe it to be true. Im not disputing you on that. My point is, it doesn’t matter. If the poll numbers can be trusted, (and they were certainly trusted around here a few weeks ago) our fellow citizens ate up MItt’s BUll-Sh!t sundae and asked for seconds… which he appears ready to serve tonight. It doesnt matter what I buy into, it doesnt matter what you buy into. What matters is what MOST people buy into. that is what frightens me.

  7. pandora says:

    But… but… you just bought into it. You just used it to end Hillary’s political career. You are dead wrong about that, btw.

    And while we post polls on this site I think everyone has been pretty clear that this was always going to be a close election – and the fundamentals of this election haven’t changed – despite bounces/drops in the polls.

  8. socialistic ben says:

    I hope I AM wrong. Trying to guess how our inept media will report something, and understand the truth about the situation aren’t the same thing. My original post was not so much what I believe, more a guess at the flavor of BS we will be served.
    Im also not so sure the administration disagrees with my point. Why, if this was indeed a reaction to a racist’s movie, has the state department acted like there was something they could have done? Hillary “taking responsibility” give credit to the false narrative.
    You’re preaching to the choir as far as how things “are” or should be….. maybe it is because i am more jaded and disillusioned than i thought possible, or probably should be….. but I have seen so many false narratives and flat out “lies” become “commonly accepted knowledge” i cant help but dread knowing where this one is going.

  9. cassandra_m says:

    If I were Romney I’d tread carefully if only because he would be addressing the man who was at the ceremony bringing the Ambassador’s body back home. Not sure how that counts as *not* manning up. But on the other hand, perhaps Romney might want to man up and take responsibility for the fact that his party was responsible for outing a CIA operation in Benghazi in their rush to politicize this thing.

    One of the reasons why this is having some difficulty catching fire is that the GOP politicized it early and too many people see it through that lens. I’m wondering why no one is making the GOP pay for the fact that the State Department has less money for security specifically at their direction.

  10. V says:

    Pandora I didn’t mean Hilary screwed up and ended her politcal career. I took it as she doesn’t really care what the media thinks of her because she doesn’t want to run in 2016 (because they’d totally bring up stupid circus stuff like this up after we’ve all forgotten what really happened). I love her. I hope im’ wrong. It just strikes me as her just not giving any more fucks.

    That being said I’m down with all of it, and I HOPE Romney would tell Obama man up. I wanna see how that goes for sir awkward robot.

  11. pandora says:

    And I’ll respectfully (still) disagree, V. This is not a tell as to whether Hillary will run or not. As the Libya incident unfolds – you know, as actual facts come out, and what’s coming out is confirming the video story (that doesn’t mean this was about the video. It means that what was being reported when Romney was shooting his mouth off jives with what the WH said at the time – this won’t be a win for Republicans. Mitt is hoping to get 3 weeks out of it, but I don’t see him making it.

    Why? Mainly because Mitt made Libya an issue and the press ran with it – and are still running with it. What happened in Libya is now a story (and it should be) and it will be followed to the end. Anything short of laying 100% of the blame at Obama’s/Dem’s feet will be a loss for Republicans. Hey, they politicized this tragedy.

    Also, Hillary isn’t a fool. She understands the complexity of the situation and she understands politics.

  12. pandora says:

    And yeah, Romney saying “man up” would be priceless.

  13. V says:

    I agree with all of the above. Everything you said makes sense in the real world. I’m just thinking about how stuff plays in the stupid made up media funhouse the real world is reflected in.

    You’re right that she’s no dummy. I just think she’s so shrewd that if her eye was on the 2016 prize she wouldn’t have shouldered blame so completely. We’ll see.

    also this:
    http://jezebel.com/5952145/conservatives-suddenly-decide-ball-busting-harridan-hillary-clinton-is-a-wimpy-doormat

  14. kavips says:

    I see the man=up phrase is jive talk to psyche the president into going too hard. Romney’s nice guy image paid off once. He will do it again, because when Romney was the bad dude, he totally lost the race…. even in the swing states.

    Seriously, if your were the President and you heard that, and had the first coin toss, you would come out swinging…. Then Romney would play the nice guy, the kind, sophisticated gentlemen, and you’d never crawl back off that limb…

    As of now, it won’t work.

  15. Tom McKenney says:

    Romney should watch it in his attacks on the situation in Libya. The aid was requested for Tripoli. But even more so, it appears from testimony is Issa’s committee that it was a CIA operation that that was attacked not a diplomatic outpost.

  16. Jason330 says:

    Im not watching or listening. I trust you guys to let me know what transpired.

  17. John Kowalko says:

    Well Pandora shocking and stupid as it was, It can be true and was true and boy did the President clean Mitt’s clock on the entire subject. President Obama’s self control in regulating his demeanor when he uttered the simple word “offensive” was a tableau in anger management that I could never hope to achieve. A sterling presidential moment for the ages. Mitt’s performance proves that there are no limits to the depths of moral turpitude to which a man of greed will sink to try to gain power. Goodnight Mr. Romney and sleep well as only a person bereft of conscience can.

  18. Liberal Elite says:

    “A sterling presidential moment for the ages.”

    Yes it was… And the next debate is on foreign policy.

    If Mitt’s foreign policy failures tonight continue into that debate, it’s all over for him. Mitt was routed in every exchange dealing with foreign policy tonight… every one.