Romney, Fox News, Jim Hoft, Michelle Malkin and Other Anti-American Conservatives Lied About Obama and Libya

Romney, Fox News, Jim Hoft, Michelle Malkin and Other Anti-American Conservatives Lied About Obama and Libya

Transcript Truthers: Conservatives Deny Obama Called Libya Attack An "Act Of Terror"

During tonight's presidential debate, moderator Candy Crowley corrected Mitt Romney's false claim that President Obama did not refer to the September 11 attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya as an act of terrorism the day after the attack.

Crowley was right, and Romney was wrong: In his September 12 remarks, the president said: "No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America." Despite this, conservatives in the media are insisting that Obama never said that.

(Twitter captures above and at link)

Both Malkin and Hoft linked to a September 30 Commentary blog post by Alana Goodman arguing that "at no point" in Obama's remarks responding to the Benghazi attack "was it clear that he was using that term to describe the attack in Benghazi." Instead, argued Goodman, the line might have been "just a generic, reassuring line he'd added into a speech which did take place, after all, the day after the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks." Even though Obama mentioned the four Americans killed in Benghazi in the very next line.

That makes little sense and is a reed far to thin to stand on. But it's good enough for Fox News and the conservative blogosphere.

Update:

Predictably, Fox News is echoing the misleading defense of Romney. During an interview with Romney surrogate John Sununu, Sean Hannity falsely claimed that when Obama referenced "acts of terror," he was "talking about September 11, 2001. He doesn't talk about Benghazi being an act of terror." Hannity then immediately aired video contradicting his supposed "fact check" of Obama:

Fox News host Bret Baier also tried to discredit the fact that Obama referred to the Benghazi attack as an act of terror. During Fox's coverage of the debate, Baier claimed that Obama wasn't "specifically speaking about Benghazi" when he referred to the attack as an act of terror -- that he was speaking "generically."

Baier also faulted Obama for repeatedly referring to an anti-Islam video as a possible catalyst for the attack and for stressing that an investigation was ongoing.

UPDATE 2: Obama also referred to the Benghazi attack as an "act of terror" while campaigning in Colorado on September 13:

    Let me say at the outset that obviously our hearts are heavy this week -- we had a tough day a couple of days ago, for four Americans were killed in an attack on our diplomatic post in Libya.  Yesterday I had a chance to go over to the State Department to talk to friends and colleagues of those who were killed.  And these were Americans who, like so many others, both in uniform and civilians, who serve in difficult and dangerous places all around the world to advance the interests and the values that we hold dear as Americans.

    And a lot of times their work goes unheralded, doesn't get a lot of attention, but it is vitally important.  We enjoy our security and our liberty because of the sacrifices that they make.  And they do an outstanding job every single day without a lot of fanfare.  (Applause.)

    So what I want all of you to know is that we are going to bring those who killed our fellow Americans to justice.  (Applause.)  I want people around the world to hear me:  To all those who would do us harm, no act of terror will go unpunished. It will not dim the light of the values that we proudly present to the rest of the world.  No act of violence shakes the resolve of the United States of America.  (Applause.)

Conservatives really should learn how to read and write American English, it is the language that most Americans use. After which thy could work on their comprehension and analytical skills. These skills tend to be important and are actually fundamental to having a system of values. Since conservatives seem to have simply learned the words values by way of route memory, perhaps that is why they do not understand American English and the legacy of American values and ideals. No One at The Conservative Anti-American Blog Newsbusters Can Pass a Reading Comprehension Test
One Matthew Sheffield | October 16, 2012 | 23:38 writes,

CNN correspondent and second presidential debate moderator Candy Crowley disgraced herself tonight, repeatedly intervening to save a floundering President Obama and showing why many Americans were rightfully suspicious of her ability to moderate a presidential debate fairly.

Her most outrageous act tonight was her incorrect seconding of Obama's statement that he declared the Libya terrorist attacks to be "terror." While Obama did indeed use the word, this is not what he meant by it. Instead, he was simply referring to "acts of terror." There was no mention of Al Qaeda or any of its affiliates with respect to the actual attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi.

Crowley bungled the facts in attempting to save Obama from his administration's dreadful bungling of the Libya situation. She owes the American people an apology for inserting herself into the debate in such an inappropriate and embarrassing fashion.

Obama clearly ised the word terrorism as the above transcripts show. One of the great things about the web is that anyone, including malciously ignorant neatherthals like Sheffeild can write anything that they like, disregarding the most obvious and easily checkable facts. Conservatives are notorious for exploiting any tragedy that happens to an American for political gain, you could call them the Addicts and Whores of Exploitation. This is easy to see when you compare the response of conservatives to the attacks of 9-11 and Bush's responsibility to Obama and Libya. Bush was in no way responsible for 9-11, yet Obama is responsible for Libya.

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As Mitt Romney Throws Himself Under The Bus On Libya, Republican Pundits Rush to Blame The Media

As Mitt Romney Throws Himself Under The Bus On Libya, Republican Pundits Rush to Blame The Media

Right-wing pundits jumped to blame "the media" after Mitt Romney was criticized for his statement and remarks following the attacks on the U.S. embassy in Cairo, Egypt, and the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Yet foreign policy experts and even conservative officials and media figures have been critical of Romney's statement and subsequent remarks.
Following Embassy Violence, Romney Issued Statement Accusing Obama Of "Disgraceful" Response To Attacks

NY Times: U.S. Ambassador And Three Staff Killed In Attack On U.S. Consulate In Benghazi; U.S. Embassy In Cairo Also Attacked. From The New York Times:

    Islamist militants armed with antiaircraft weapons and rocket-propelled grenades stormed a lightly defended United States diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, late Tuesday, killing the American ambassador and three members of his staff and raising fresh questions about the radicalization of countries swept up in the Arab Spring.

    [...]

    Fighters involved in the assault, which was spearheaded by a Islamist brigade formed during last year's uprising against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, said in interviews during the battle that they were moved to attack the mission by anger over a 14-minute, American-made video that depicted the Prophet Muhammad, Islam's founder, as a villainous, homosexual and child-molesting buffoon. Their attack followed by just a few hours the storming of the compound surrounding the United States Embassy in Cairo by an unarmed mob protesting the same video. On Wednesday, new crowds of protesters gathered outside the United States Embassies in Tunis and in Cairo. [The New York Times, 9/12/12]

Romney Statement: "It's Disgraceful" That The Obama Administration "Sympathize[d] With Those Who Waged The Attacks." Romney issued a statement on the evening of September 11 that read, in part: "It's disgraceful that the Obama administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks." [CNN.com, 9/12/12]

Romney: Obama Administration "Clearly Sent Mixed Messages To The World" With Embassy Statement That Was "Akin To Apology." Referring to a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo before the attacks took place, Romney said, during a September 12 press conference, in response to a reporter's question:

    ROMNEY: It's their administration. Their administration spoke. The president takes responsibility not just for the words that come from his mouth, but also from the words that come from his ambassadors from his administration, from his embassies, from his State Department.

    They clearly - they clearly sent mixed messages to the world and the statement that came from the administration and the embassy is the administration. The statement that came from the administration was - was a statement which is akin to apology and I think was a - a severe miscalculation. [CNN.com, 9/12/12]

For more on both the U.S. embassy's statement and Romney's remarks, see here.
Right-Wing Media Claim "The Media Went After Romney" ...

Fox's Bolling: "The Media Went After Romney."  During the September 12 edition of Fox News' The Five, co-host Eric Bolling suggested that "the media went after Romney":

    BOLLING: [T]he media went after Romney for saying it too early, going after Obama too early -- should he not be going after Obama. Then President Obama, after Romney made the statement, then President Obama condemned the killing. So Mitt Romney didn't have President Obama condemning the killing prior to making the statement, so of course he has all the right in the world to say really, we're going to apologize -- when you read it yesterday, I thought we're apologizing to Muslims, and they're killing our people.

    GREG GUTFELD (co-host): It's insidious. [Fox News, The Five, 9/12/12]

Ann Coulter: "The Media Is Screaming Bloody Murder" Over Romney's Statement. During the September 12 edition of Fox News' Hannity, conservative author Ann Coulter said, "You know that Romney's statement was devastating to President Obama because the media is screaming bloody murder. If he hadn't struck gold with that, they wouldn't all be doing this. But that's their response to everything Romney says." [Fox News, Hannity, 9/12/12]

Michelle Malkin: "We Have The Feckless, Lap-Dog Media Who Is Conspiring To Make This About Romney Instead Of About Obama." Later during the Hannity broadcast, Fox News contributor Michelle Malkin said of Romney's statement: "[W]e have this feckless, lap-dog media who is conspiring to make this about Romney instead of about Obama." [Fox News, Hannity, 9/12/12]

Rush Limbaugh: "The Media" Are "Trying To Make All Of This About Romney."  During the September 12 edition of Rush Limbaugh's program, Limbaugh claimed that what "the media" are "trying to do is make all of this about Romney." [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 9/12/12]
... But Fail To Note Romney's Response Was Criticized By Foreign Policy Experts ...

VOA: Former Defense Department Official Korb Said He Is "Appalled" By Romney's Comments. From a September 12 Voice of America article about Romney's criticism of Obama following the embassy attacks:

    The Romney comments also provoked a strong reaction from some foreign policy experts.

    Lawrence Korb is a former Defense Department official who is now with the Center for American Progress, a Democratic-leaning policy research group in Washington.

    "Well, I should say that I'm appalled, but not surprised because I think the Romney campaign is desperate to try and close the gap on foreign policy, which had been a traditional Republican strength in the elections but it is not this time," Korb said. [Voice of America, 9/12/12]

Former Ambassador And NATO Representative Burns: "I Was Frankly Very Disappointed And Dismayed To See Gov. Romney Inject Politics Into This Very Difficult Situation." During an interview with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell, Nicholas Burns, who served in State Departments under President George W. Bush and President Clinton, said:

    BURNS: This is a tragic day for our country and our foreign service. Four outstanding Americans have been killed. And I was frankly very disappointed and dismayed to see Governor Romney inject politics into this very difficult situation, where our embassies are under attack, where there's been a big misunderstanding in the Middle East, apparently, about an American film, where we're trying to preserve the lives of our diplomats -- this is no time for politics.

    I watched Secretary Clinton's statement this morning, and I read President Obama's statement, and I've looked at the statement that you've just referred to issued 24 hours ago by our embassy in Cairo. In no way, shape, or form is the U.S. government or the Obama administration apologizing for terrorists or sympathizing with them. What I heard from the president and Secretary Clinton was a very definite rejection of terrorism and, of course, our government's going to call on the Egyptian and Libyan governments to apprehend these people and to put them on trial. So I just think that Governor Romney has, in a very unwise way, injected himself into a situation where he clearly doesn't have all the facts. [MSNBC, Andrea Mitchell Reports, 9/12/12]

... And Was Challenged By Conservative Political And Media Figures -- Including Fox's Bill O'Reilly

Bill O'Reilly: "I'm Not Sure [Romney] Is Correct On That. The Embassy Was Trying To Head Off The Violence" With Statement. During the September 12 edition of Fox News' O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly played video of Romney's remarks from his September 12 press conference and said, "I'm not sure the governor is correct on that. The embassy was trying to head off the violence" with their statement. [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 9/12/12]

Former McCain Adviser: Pointing Out "That We Reject Vile Attacks On Muslims...Does Not Constitute Sympathy For The People Besieging Our Embassy As Gov. Romney Alleged." Longtime John McCain adviser Mark Salter responded to Romney's remarks on the embassy's statement on the website RealClearPolitics:

    [T]here is nothing wrong in principle with making clear to people, who have yet to embrace the categorical right to free speech, that Americans and their government deplore the deplorable, that we reject vile attacks on Muslims as vigorously as we reject vile anti-Semitic attacks.

    To do so does not constitute sympathy for the people besieging our embassy, as Gov. Romney alleged. Nor is at an apology for America, as some Obama critics have claimed. It's an expression of our decency. [RealClearPolitics, 9/12/12]

Noonan: Romney Isn't "Doing Himself Any Favors," "When Hot Things Happen, Cool Words -- Or No Words -- Is The Way To Go." Former Ronald Reagan speechwriter and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan commented on Romney's remarks on Fox News, a Wall Street Journal blog reported:

    Peggy Noonan, a speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan who writes a column for The Wall Street Journal's opinion pages, said on Fox News that he had opened himself up to accusations that he was "trying to exploit things politically."

    "I belong to the old school of thinking in times of great drama and heightened crisis, and at times when something violent is happening to your people, I always think discretion is the better way to go," she said. "I don't feel that Mr. Romney has been doing himself any favors.... When hot things happen, cool words- or no words- is the way to go." [Washington Wire, The Wall Street Journal, 9/12/12]

Frum: "The Romney Campaign's Attempt To Score Political Points On The Killing Of American Diplomats Was A Dismal Business In Every Respect." The Journal blog also reported that David Frum, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, was also critical of Romney's comments:

    Conservative writer David Frum wrote on Wednesday, "Politicians must pander, it goes with the job. But they mustn't leave their fingerprints all over their pandering. The Romney campaign's attempt to score political points on the killing of American diplomats was a dismal business in every respect." [Washington Wire, The Wall Street Journal, 9/12/12]

President Obama summed up Romney's problem well when he said that Romney seems to shoot first and take aim later. There does not seem to be a limit to the exploitation of tragedy, of death to most of the conservative movement. never make the mistake that someday Republicans will act like real Americans and stop acting like pond scum, because the vast majority of them never will.

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