The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Biden launches into Romney
Vice president says Republican lacks foreign policy vision, experience.
NEW YORK — Vice President Joe Biden delivered a harsh attack Thursday on Mitt Romney’s foreign policy views, arguing that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is rooted in a Cold War mentality and is uninformed about the challenges now facing the U.S. abroad.
In a campaign speech at New York University Law School, Biden defended President Barack Obama’s foreign policy record and blasted Romney for lacking vision and for “distorting” Obama’s record.
“If you’re looking for a bumper sticker to sum up how President Obama has handled what we inherited, it’s pretty simple: Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive,” Biden said, saying Obama’s decisions on both foreign and domestic policy had made the U.S. safer.
Biden cast the former Massachusetts governor as an inexperienced foreign policy thinker who would delegate decisions to staff and advisers. He also hit Romney on his reputation for flip-flopping on issues.
“We know when the governor does venture a position it’s a safe bet that he previously took or will take an exactly opposite position,” Biden said, noting that Romney had originally supported setting a time frame for pulling U.S. troops from Afghanistan only to later criticize Obama’s plan to do so by the end of 2014.
Biden repeatedly used Romney’s own words against him, such as when Romney downplayed the significance of capturing Osama bin Laden during Romney’s 2008 presidential bid and, more recently, when Romney said Russia was the United States’ gravest geopolitical foe.
“As my brother would say, ‘Go figure,’” Biden said to laughs.
In response, Romney adviser John Lehman accused the president of a “gross abdication of leadership.”
“Why is the United States under Obama abdicating its leadership for keeping stability in the world?” asked Lehman, Navy secretary in the Reagan administration, during a conference call Romney’s campaign arranged with reporters before Biden spoke. “This is a serious crisis and perhaps could be the central issue in the campaign.”
Lehman continued: “The Obama administration in a very studied and intentional way is withdrawing from leading the free world and maintaining stability around the world — what Obama calls leading from behind. But the reality is it’s opening up huge new vulnerabilities.”
Obama has not described his foreign policy as “leading from behind.” Republicans used the phrase to chastise Obama for his handling of last year’s uprising in Libya.
Biden recited Obama’s foreign policy achievements, noting that he ordered the attack that killed bin Laden and fulfilled a campaign promise to end the Iraq war. Biden said Obama repaired alliances with other nations, particularly with geopolitical partners in Europe and Asia.
Biden said Obama had adhered to President Teddy Roosevelt’s admonition that, on foreign policy, a president should speak softly and carry a big stick.
“I promise you, the president has a big stick,” Biden said.