The Candidates and The World

Transition 2012

A guide to foreign policy and the 2012 U.S. presidential transition.

Midday Update: Candidates Campaign for Military Votes

by Newsteam Staff Friday, September 28, 2012
Photo of the Day: Veterans at a campaign event for GOP candidate Mitt Romney in Springfield, Virginia September 27, 2012. (Brian Snyder/Courtesy Reuters) Photo of the Day: Veterans at a campaign event for GOP candidate Mitt Romney in Springfield, Virginia September 27, 2012. (Brian Snyder/Courtesy Reuters)

President Barack Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney campaigned in front of military audiences in Virginia yesterday, where Obama talked up his jobs plan while Romney criticized Obama over $1 trillion in potential defense budget cuts (AP) that was passed in Congress with bipartisan support. Read more »

Midday Update: Candidates Differ on Path to Engagement

by Newsteam Staff Thursday, September 27, 2012
Photo of the Day: U.S. President Barack Obama high-fives a young supporter in the audience at Kent State University September 26, 2012. (Jason Reed/Courtesy Reuters) Photo of the Day: U.S. President Barack Obama at Kent State University September 26, 2012. (Jason Reed/Courtesy Reuters)

High-profile addresses, at the UN and the Clinton Global Initiative, this week have reaffirmed both candidates’ desire to project U.S. political and economic values to the world, but GOP nominee Mitt Romney and President Obama differ in their path of engagement, reports the Washington Post. Read more »

Midday Update: Romney Says Libya Attack ‘an Act of Terror’

by Newsteam Staff Wednesday, September 26, 2012
GOP nominee Mitt Romney speaks during the Clinton Global Initiative 2012 in New York September 25, 2012. (Adrees Latif/Courtesy Reuters) Photo of the Day: GOP nominee Mitt Romney speaks during the Clinton Global Initiative 2012 in New York September 25, 2012. (Adrees Latif/Courtesy Reuters)

GOP nominee Mitt Romney has accused President Obama of not being honest with the public about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya and for not referring to it as a terrorist attack (WSJ) even though the director of the National Counterterrorism Center and the White House press secretary have. Read more »

Midday Update: Obama’s UN Address Aims for U.S. Voters

by Newsteam Staff Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Photo of the Day: U.S. President Barack Obama addresses the 67th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York September 25, 2012. (Mike Segar/Courtesy Reuters) Photo of the Day: U.S. President Barack Obama addresses the 67th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York September 25, 2012. (Mike Segar/Courtesy Reuters)

President Obama addressed the UN General Assembly today, and although White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said it won’t be “a campaign speech,” (The Hill), it seemed to be aimed at a domestic audience as well as an international one. Read more »

What They’re Saying: Israel and Iran

by Newsteam Staff Monday, September 24, 2012
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem September 11, 2012. (POOL New/Courtesy Reuters) Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem September 11, 2012. (POOL New/Courtesy Reuters)
On Iran

The Sacramento Bee editorial board has accused GOP nominee Mitt Romney of “parroting Netanyahu on Mideast policy,” describing the similarity of their comments as “an unseemly injection of a foreign leader into U.S. elections and foreign policy.” Read more »

Midday Update: Candidates on 60 Minutes Talk Foreign Policy

by Newsteam Staff Monday, September 24, 2012
Photo of the Day: Audience members listen as GOP nominee Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign rally in Denver September 23, 2012. (BrianSnyder/Courtesy Reuters) Photo of the Day: Audience members listen as GOP nominee Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign rally in Denver September 23, 2012. (BrianSnyder/Courtesy Reuters)

The candidates criticized each other on foreign policy (LAT) in separate interviews on 60 Minutes last night, with GOP nominee Mitt Romney accusing President Obama of being weak on defense and Obama saying “that if Romney ‘is suggesting that we should start another war — he should say so.’” Read more »

Views From Abroad: Israel’s Effect on the Campaign

by Newsteam Staff Friday, September 21, 2012
A Jewish worshipper leans on the stones of the Western Wall during prayers July 29, 2012. (Baz Ratner/Courtesy Reuters) A Jewish worshipper leans on the stones of the Western Wall during prayers July 29, 2012. (Baz Ratner/Courtesy Reuters)

On this week’s Views from Abroad, we head to Israel, where two hot topics are Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s U.S. visit and GOP nominee Mitt Romney’s leaked comments on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Read more »

Midday Update: Obama, Ryan Square Off on Medicare at AARP

by Newsteam Staff Friday, September 21, 2012
President Obama takes part in town hall hosted by Univision at University of Miami September 20, 2012. (Kevin Lamarque/Courtesy Reuters) Photo of the Day: President Obama on Univision in Coral Gables, Florida September 20, 2012. (Kevin Lamarque/Courtesy Reuters)

President Barack Obama and GOP Mitt Romney’s running mate, Paul Ryan, addressed an AARP convention in New Orleans today. Obama said the Romney-Ryan plan would leave seniors at the mercy of insurance companies (TheHill), while Ryan said Obama’s signature healthcare law would curb future Medicare spending (HuffingtonPost). Read more »

Midday Update: Romney Talks Immigration on Univision

by Newsteam Staff Thursday, September 20, 2012
Photo of the Day: GOP nominee Mitt Romney at Univision in Miami, Florida September 19, 2012. (Jim Young/Courtesy Reuters) Photo of the Day: GOP nominee Mitt Romney at Univision in Miami, Florida September 19, 2012. (Jim Young/Courtesy Reuters)

GOP nominee Mitt Romney attempted to increase his support among Latino voters last night at a forum sponsored by Univision by softening his tone on immigration (BuzzFeed).” Read more »

Midday Update: GOP Blames ‘War on Coal’ for Job Losses

by Newsteam Staff Wednesday, September 19, 2012
A senior advisor to U.S. GOP nominee Mitt Romney listens to questions from reporters on campaign plane September 18, 2012. (Jim Young/Courtesy Reuters) A senior advisor to U.S. GOP nominee Mitt Romney listens to questions from reporters on campaign plane September 18, 2012. (Jim Young/Courtesy Reuters)

GOP nominee Mitt Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, blamed the Obama administration’s “war on coal” for the announcement of 1,200 coal mining job cuts by Alpha Natural Resources. Read more »