The Candidates and The World

Transition 2012

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

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Showing posts for "Middle East"

Midday Update: Romney Says Mideast Needs New Strategy

by Newsteam Staff
Photo of the Day: GOP Vice-Presidential candidate Paul Ryan and his wife Janna wave as they arrive at a campaign event September 29, 2012. (Jessica Rinaldi/Courtesy Reuters) Photo of the Day: GOP Vice-Presidential candidate Paul Ryan and his wife Janna wave as they arrive at a campaign event September 29, 2012. (Jessica Rinaldi/Courtesy Reuters)

In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney discusses U.S. policy in the Middle East and said President Barack Obama  is “misunderstanding” and “misapplying” U.S. values in his dealings with nations in the region, especially given the growing security situation. Read more »

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

by Newsteam Staff
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 »

What They’re Saying: Israel and Iran

by Newsteam Staff
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: Romney Talks Immigration on Univision

by Newsteam Staff
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: Poll, Many Voters Like Mideast Response

by Newsteam Staff
Photo of the Day: US Secretary of State Clinton meets with Myanmar opposition leader Suu Kyi in Washington September 18, 2012. (Gary Cameron/Courtesy Reuters) Photo of the Day: US Secretary of State Clinton meets with Myanmar opposition leader Suu Kyi in Washington September 18, 2012. (Gary Cameron/Courtesy Reuters)

A Pew Research Center poll released yesterday showed that among voters who followed the news about the attacks on U.S. embassies in the Middle East, nearly half (45 percent) approve of President Obama’s handling of the situation, while 36 percent disapprove. Read more »

Midday Update: Romney Advisers Talk Mideast Response

by Toni Johnson
Photo of the Day: A supporter of U.S. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in Fairfax, Virginia, September 13, 2012. (Jim Young/Courtesy Reuters) Photo of the Day: A supporter of U.S. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in Fairfax, Virginia, September 13, 2012. (Jim Young/Courtesy Reuters)

GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s campaign advisers on Thursday said that the deadly protests in the Middle East would not be happening if the Republican nominee were president (WashPost). Read more »

Midday Update: Poll Weighs in on National Security Views

by Newsteam Staff
Photo of the Day: U.S. President Barack Obama at campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada September 12, 2012. (Kevin Lamarque/Courtesy Reuters) Photo of the Day: U.S. President Barack Obama at campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada September 12, 2012. (Kevin Lamarque/Courtesy Reuters)

A new Gallup poll­ shows the Democratic and Republican parties tied, at 45 percent, in voters’ perception of which major party would do the better job of protecting the United States from international terrorism and military threats, a five-year high for Democrats. Read more »

Midday Update: Romney’s ‘Subtle Contrast’ on Afghanistan

by Newsteam Staff
Photo of the Day: Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney greets supporters in Jacksonville, Florida, September 12, 2012. (Jim Young/Reuters) Photo of the Day: Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney greets supporters in Jacksonville, Florida, September 12, 2012. (Jim Young/Reuters)

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney discussed his plans for the U.S. military and the drawdown from Afghanistan in a speech at the National Guard Convention Tuesday that some say “drew only subtle contrasts with the president’s foreign policy” (WashPost) and mainly “echoed the current U.S. policy” (Politico). Read more »

Midday Update: Dems Vote for Obama, Jerusalem Text Added

by Newsteam Staff
Photo of the Day: Delegates at the second session of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina September 5, 2012 (Eric Thayer/Courtesy Reuters). Photo of the Day: Delegates at the second session of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina September 5, 2012 (Eric Thayer/Courtesy Reuters).

Democrats formally–and unanimously–voted to make President Barack Obama their party’s 2012 presidential candidate Wednesday (TheHill) after former president Bill Clinton’s nomination speech (WashPost). Read more »

Midday Update: Is Romney Losing Focus on the Economy?

by Newsteam Staff
Photo of the Day: Betty Douglas, mother of Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, at a campaign event at The Villages in Lady Lake, Florida August 18, 2012 (Scott Audette/Courtesy Reuters). Photo of the Day: Betty Douglas, mother of Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, in Lady Lake, Florida August 18, 2012 (Scott Audette/Courtesy Reuters).

As U.S. fiscal health remain at the forefront of the election debate, some analysts are asking whether GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign is muddying focus by shifting trail talk from his plans for the overall economy to more specific topics such as welfare and Medicare (LAT). Read more »