Chuck Todd opened his show by saying Rmoney's statement...

[PearliePoo2]

was crass, tone-deaf and they now wish they could take it back.
Man, this morning's shows (Morning Joe and Chuck Todd) have been intense in their piling on Rmoney. I'm actually shocked.

[jsmirman]

1. Is it that they spoke before the reality

of the situation had emerged?

It seems like the timing of their statement - it was prior to the violence(?) - is a real issue here?

I'm just waking up to this, so I'm still trying to get my head around timeline elements involved here.

[PearliePoo2]

7. The general consensus by all was

Rmoney's statement was not only ill-timed, but in his rush to slam Obama he didn't even wait for any facts to come in.
Most everyone is disgusted and agree Rmoney blew it bad.

[BeyondGeography]

2. They aren't totally stupid...they'll be dealing with Obama until Jan. 2017

No future in standing up for a reckless loser.

[fugop]

3. I feel like I'm in an alternate reality!

Journalists actually doing their job and pointing out lies? Don't wake me if I'm dreaming!

[Flashmann]

13. No doubt....

Especially Chucklehead Toad......Amazing...

[GOTV]

4. What statement?

[klook]

39. Here's a link

to a Yahoo News story about this.

Predictably, the Romney campaign has gleefully pounced on an opportunity to politicize an attack on the U.S. embassy in Libya at a time when Americans should be united.

Steve Kornacki has a piece on Salon about how disgusting Romney's statement is.

[lunasun]

41. thanks

from salon
The actual chronology goes something like this: As anti-American protests inspired by a crude Terry Jones video began gathering steam, the U.S. embassy in Cairo – and not the Obama White House — put out a statement condemning “the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims — as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions.”

The obvious intent was to cool the passions of the protesters. As Marc Ambinder explained, it was “exactly what Americans inside the embassy who are scared for their lives now and worry about revenge later need to have released in their name.”

Protests were also building in Libya, and sometime later the U.S. consulate in Benghazi came under siege, with news breaking late Tuesday night that a State Department official had been killed.
more at salon

Rmoney is all about division
his foreign policy will suck and bring more war
but profits for his big supporters

[klook]

56. Yes, and the Teanderthals would be happy only with some swaggering "USA! USA!" statements

followed by bombs dropped on Iran, or maybe Indonesia, or Kenya.

[lunasun]

62. you betcha !!

[CoffeeCat]

48. And we know why Romney did this...

Set aside for a moment, the fact that Romney is a blazing nimrod who is about as sharp as a sack of wet mice. Yes, that plays a part in his recent idiotic statement. However, I just heard last night that he was meeting with conservatives who were pissed as hell at him for not attacking Obama more.

OMG. Seriously. It's like they revved up a greyhound with a big ol' hate-inducing speech, then let him out of the gate and then watched him tear up the track and eat the fence.

It's Romney unleashed!

Seriously? Do we really have to deal with this idiot--crapping all over himself for the next two months?

Did you see his fake press conference complete with Presidential blue curtains and a flag that he probably stole from the nearest elementary school classroom? It looked like bad dinner theater.

I am certainly glad that we're all getting to know Romney--and how utterly batshit dumb he is.

[klook]

53. Haven't seen the Pretend Presidential press conference -- thanks for the info

Great description of Romney as crazed greyhound (or Irish Setter)...perhaps after a ride on top of Reince Priebus's car?

[Pachamama]

54. "Romney Unleashed"....

....yep, that's what we get treated to now for next couple of months....him crapping all over himself...

Even my 8 yr old watching the news conference on the TV asked me why that man on the TV was pretending to be a President....her ending comment was "he's not very good at it"...

Romney unleashed....another reality show right up there with Real Housewives and Honey Boo Boo...Great....more crap on TV....

[goclark]

65. Smart,smart daughter

...asked me why that man on the TV was pretending to be a President....her ending comment was "he's not very good at it"...

[MADem]

67. "A" flag? He had FOUR of them, and they weren't the same, either!

It was clear that he'd rounded them up from this place and that--different manufacturers and poles, quite obviously....! Note the pisspoor placement:




There are two more to the right...!

[retread]

74. "... Romney unleashed! " Maybe someone should strap him to the roof of his car.

[Generic Brad]

77. Sheamus Romney

Sheam, Sheam, Sheam.

[maddiemom]

55. We are more and more in a global community.

Obviously the 1% and industrialists have no loyalty to the U.S. After all, like Mitt, they have homes around the world and can just retire to them if this country falls apart, and the rest of us (although unlikely) take to the streets. They've already sent most of our jobs there. It infuriates me, therefore, that the Republicans push their jingoism on us "masses." Blinding loyalty to USA!, regardless of how we "help" (often read EXPLOIT) some of the other nations. This blindness led to 9/11. Great military might can't protect us these days. The right wing determination to see us as "exceptional," rather than cooperative, is leading to our downfall. Those with a broader sense of community and history should not be dismissed as "apologists."

[Patiod]

70. Romney is poised to pick up and go at any time

it doesn't matter if the US succeeds or fails, his money is distributed all over the world, and he can easily live elsewhere.

[GOTV]

83. Thanks everyone. I had yet to watch the news.

[Lucy Goosey]

5. Romney's defenders are jumping ship

Even hacks like Todd and Scarborough are savvy enough to realize that most of what Mitt does and says is indefensible, and that that continued blind Mitt support at this point will harm their reputations. They have both provided him a fair amount of cover, but Mitt is just not giving them anything to work with. This is all making me very happy, I have to say.

[CoffeeCat]

49. This is not an exaggeration...

...but he makes Bush Junior look like a Rhodes Scholar.

Seriously. Bush Junior was at least *himself*. He was a good ol' boy who was informal and he didn't try convince us all that he was the sharpest guy in the room. He knew he was "the guy that you'd like to have a beer with" and the cowboy dude who liked to clear brush.

Romney is an arrogant ass who thinks that he's the smartest guy in the room who is damn well entitled to the Presidency. He's a total fake who is dumber than a stick. But he pretends to be smart. His daddy's standing, his looks and his arrogance have given him a lot in his life--more than he deserves.

This campaign is spotlighting the fact that there is no there there.

At best, he should be an anchorman in a B market.

[maddiemom]

57. Well, Rove invented that Bush fiction, and it worked.

Dubya sold his ranch and doesn't clear much brush anymore. His laid back, doofus persona worked in his favor, however. Romney can never be presented in that way. He is obviously so elite and out of touch with normal Americans, that he will invariably put his foot in his mouth anytime he's trying to present himself as a "normal guy." Ann is even worse. She has no clue as to average life and shows it.

[hifiguy]

59. I am beginning to think that Chimpy knew he wasn't very bright

at least deep down, and simply presided while DicKKK reigned. Like Popeye, he was what he was - a dolt who believed what he believed regardless of any and all facts to the contrary. Willard is in some ways far more dangerous. He thinks he's a smart guy but he's not. He's just an arrogant asshole who thinks that he can get away with literally anything.

[Patiod]

71. He WAS good at looting companies

You have to give him that. Buy a company, loot all their assets, load them up with debt, let them fail, rinse & repeat.

I don't trust him as a real businessperson who builds companies which create good jobs, or as a spokesman for our foreign policy any more than I trusted Junior.

[MADem]

69. Simplicity is elegance, and that was a very elegant read of the situation!

You've summed it up very well, indeed.

[Lucy Goosey]

72. Why, thank you!

What a great compliment.

[gollygee]

6. We would have problems with everyone if he were president

I mean he upsets our allies, like the UK and Russia, with his lack of diplomacy. He can't handle being in a position where you have to know what to say that will not make matters worse.

[Barack_America]

8. We'd already have bombers over Iran.

Which is a truly terrifying thought.

[jsmirman]

14. That is something I hope is not lost

we've seen the consequences of having a reckless fool representing us in our foreign policy.

[corkhead]

21. Imagine a "Secretary of State John R. Bolton"

that brings a chill down the spine.

[gollygee]

23. Oh yeah he'd probably use the George W. Bush method of selection

for positions.

"Who is the absolute worst person to put in this position? Oh yeah, then that's the person for the job!"

[Hubert Flottz]

36. He'd hold the UK and Russia down and cut off their hair if he were pResident.

He'd dickslap Iran the next day if he were pResident!

upChuck Turd and Slow Scarbutt are just trying to gain back a tiny shred of credibility, so they can ambush Obama the next shot they get. Those two are Jack Welch's wonder-pimps.

[maddiemom]

61. Point well taken!

Few candidates before have had the opportunity to prove themselves so disastrous in terms of diplomacy (but I'm pretty sure Mitt would never massage a female foreign leader's neck..I'll give him that). These Republicans...so unpredictable and funny!

[BootinUp]

9. This is another big mis-step for Romney

getting to where I can't keep track of them all. What an unqualified knee-jerking dick.

[joeybee12]

10. The insane teabaggers like the statement...real humans don't...

Gotta go pretty low to get Toad on your side, and Rmoney did.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

11. Romney is set to speak on this at 9:35 Eastern Wednesday morning,

according to Fox 'News'. Romney and Fox seem to be trying to turn this provocation into another 9/11. But who's helping al-Qaeda this time?

Fortunately, President Obama has scheduled a Rose Garden speech on the attacks in Libya and Egypt for 10:35, an hour after Romney. I expect him to make Romney look really, really, small, without even mentioning his name.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

27. Fox is now showing a split screen with the State Dept on one side,

for Secretary Clinton's statement, and a dais in Jacksonville on the other, for Mitt Romney's simultaneous statement!

Who's in charge of US foreign policy, and who thinks he is?

[malaise]

12. WHat also pissed off most newsrooms was the pretence at decency

by placing an embargo until 12.01am

[CTyankee]

15. I overslept this morning and tuned in late to Morning Joe...

when I heard about the embassy attack I must say I had mixed emotions. I felt relief knowing Obama and Hillary were on the job and then scared that Romney make an "Iran hostage" type of situation out of this...then as the story emerged on the show, I noticed how everyone came down on the Romney campaign in spades! They were calling it yet another stupid statement from the R Campaign. They really blasted it...

[reformist2]

16. Romney actually accused Obama of "sympathizing" with terrorists!

His statement was so off-the-handle and over-the-top, it really is astonishing.

[reflection]

17. Romney is a sociopath, pure and simple.

Anything to reach the goal. Consequences be damned. We have an ambassador who is barely cold, strangled to death, and they are high-fiving each other right now.

I have never been so furious as I am today at the recklessness of these hateful religious zealots on both sides, enabled by the radical right-wing in this country.

[Hubert Flottz]

38. "sociopath, pure and simple"

Kind of like Bush and Cheney only even more stupid! Nothing really pure about any of them, but pure evil and greed.

Mitt would have outsourced his own mother, if he could have made a Dollar.

[mikeysnot]

42. Say anything Mitt?...

[tanyev]

43. That picture is perfect, but it makes me sad to see Mitt's head on John Cusack's body.

[BumRushDaShow]

18. I was duly shocked that Schmuck went this route

given his past experience of him shilling for rethugs later in his show. He has pretty much stuck with the outrage against Rmoney... at least so far.

About time!!! Rmoney's campaign staff made an extraordinary faux pas.

[PearliePoo2]

19. Lawrence O'Donnell was great in linking Rmoney to Netanyahu.

They were business buddies, have known each other since the 70's. O'Donnell says it's despicable that Netanyahu is inserting himself in the U. S. election and would want to control/dictate our policy.
This is a huge and tragic mess in so many ways this morning. Four Americans died, I'm deeply saddened.
I hope his blunder does the amateur Rmoney in.

[Waiting For Everyman]

20. Mitt and Netanyahu are BFFs. So says the NYT in April...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/us/politics/mitt-romney-and-benjamin-netanyahu-are-old-friends.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Rmoney and friends already have our next false flag operation picked out for us. It's the only thing they're good at. Who in the thinking universe wants Mittens and Bibi running our world?

I also wouldn't be surprised if there isn't a direct tie-in with this Terry Jones character and the 50 Israeli "investors" in that atrocious video. This incident today seems very staged to me, including someone in Egypt and Libya inciting the reaction there. Once again, I don't buy it. The whole thing smells phoney to me -- and very conventient for Rmoney.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

22. good for them. the potential disaster that Rmoney has created bears all the

fingerprints of Bolten, Cheney, and other neocons. And that is the scariest part about it.

It also shows that Rmoney is

a) a lapdog of the Cheney Bush crew that led us into Iraq
b) has no world knowledge about the region
c) is incapable of sensing the impact of his actions.


C), in particular is a fact. Looking at how he says, "I like to fire people" fits perfectly with a greedy, out of touch, jerk, whose level level of understanding and empathy rates lower than petrified whale shit at the bottom of the pacific.

[7worldtrade]

24. instaconsensus-mitt-statement-a-blunder politico

http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/09/instaconsensus-mitt-statement-a-blunder-135284.html

[BumRushDaShow]

28. This was a surprise - coming from Politico. n/t

[Hamlette]

40. they turned it into a "Romney blew the new cycle and doesn't have time to waste" story

There are a lot of problems with Romney's reaction to the U.S. consulate attacks, but the most straightforward one may be that it burns away time his campaign didn't have. We're now going to spend at least one news cycle -- and probably more -- analyzing and responding to Romney's incendiary statement, and the issue will surely carry through to the Sunday shows this weekend. When you're trailing in a presidential election with eight weeks to go, you can't afford to spend one of those weeks defending a provocative statement that you didn't have to make in the first place, especially when you were already on the defensive on national security.


I think this is what they call a meta argument. Trust Politico. But still, a bit of piling on.

Not surprising what Romney did. When you have advisers like Bolton, what do you expect?

[CoffeeCat]

51. Great. Another 72 hours discussing Mitt's stupidity.

Are we bored yet?

[jeff47]

64. No. (nt)

[charlyvi]

79. Heh. Good one.

[mountain grammy]

25. Rmoney is desperate

He is appealing to 30% of Americans, 1% are as rich as him and the rest are as inept, incompetent, and full of hate.

[still_one]

26. I am quite surprised /nt

[avebury]

29. K&R nt

[TwilightGardener]

30. I can't believe how irresponsible they are, how insensitive, how opportunistic.

[newspeak]

78. of course you can believe it

did reagan make a deal with the iranians to not release AMERICAN prisoners until after the election? did reagan (bush)make a deal with the iranians to launder money/guns for the contras? why it seems that the neocons love to deal with those that are considered "terrorists."

did wolfowitz have an israeli spy in his department? did the * administration send the israeli "art students" and "bogus movers" (attempting to get on a military base) back to israel? Because, after all, they are supposed to be our allies. So, romney is best buds, especially business buds with natenyahou (sp), how special. I wouldn't trust either one of them.

Gee, I wonder how much money they could make further fueling hostilities in the ME.

So, the "artist" who made this cheap, amateurish film, is he a neocon? Just wondering.

What I see, is it's not about the well being of our country, or the well being of the civilians in the ME-it's about playing the global rich man's game-about winning, and making lucrative profits on the backs of everyone. and the "patsies" are those (zealots) who react like pavlov's dog to incitement.

[NotThisTime]

31. Good, I hope they mean it, it was tone deaf and it was crass

[Jennicut]

32. Does this remind anyone of McCain's bizarre blowing of the TARP thing in '08?

When he wanted to "suspend" his campaign? Romney cannot handle a crisis any better then McCain could. Mittens campaign is so eerily reminiscent of McCain's. And yet, it seems to be run even worse.

[Rozlee]

52. That was when Obama overtook and passed McCain, wasn't it?

I just remember McCain saying something about our economy doing great just a couple of weeks before everything went south and then acting confused and helpless when confronted with the reality that it had imploded and even wanting to cancel his debates. He looked like a bumbling buffoon to Obama's cool reassuring persona. But, at least in him, Obama had a somewhat more worthy opponent. Romney is just a foolish, unfeeling, narcissistic idiot who even appears to have traces of sociopathy. And you're right, his campaign is run worse. His press secretary, Andrea Saul, is the daughter of a prominent contributor who can't think on her feet and too many of his other close advisors seem to be DNC plants.

[Cynicus Emeritus]

33. Political events are being orchestrated by those who want an Iran War

An Iran War fought and paid for by working and middle class Americans (not the 1 percent is the end game. Romney will give in to it, Obama will not.

Until Americans on the right and left wake up to the fact that the events in the world don't just happen, they are orchestrated to create an outcome that is typically detrimental to the 99%. This movie was produced purposely to create political turmoil for Obama and those who oppose taking us into another war.

[harun]

37. +1

[lunasun]

45. An Iran War fought and paid for by working and middle class Americans

some would pay with their lives or limbs
let us not forget this

[Cynicus Emeritus]

76. Absolutely! (Nothing else needed or added)

[Anthony McCarthy]

35. Don't worry NPR will "balance" it

Don't worry, NPR will "balance" Romney's lie so that it comes out in his favor. They'll have on their ususal 2-3 Republicans for one milquetoast Brookings Prostitution "Democrat" or NPR reporter. Oh, one of them might be an 'independent' from the Cato Prostitution. If it wasn't for NPR Cato would hardly ever get on air.

[TwilightGardener]

44. This is true. Welcome to DU.

[CoffeeCat]

46. Really??? I just heard Romney say the opposite!!

I am working at home this morning and very busy, but I could of swore that I saw
that asshole trying to look Presidential in some sort of fake news conference. Yeah.
He was standing in front of a flag and everything! God what a dipshit!

I heard him say that he doesn't regret what he said. He says he will never regret saying
that American should never apologize for....blah, blah, pander, pander, whatever, yadda,yadda.

That's what I heard anyway.

So, before did they say that the regretted the comments?

GEEZ! Has their ever been a more f'd up political campaign in the history of political campaigns?

It's a carousel of confusion and contradictions!

Can anyone explain what the hell is going on?

Romney's religion doesn't allow him to drink, do drugs or ingest caffeine. It's too bad because sometimes I sense that the man needs a beer or a Vicodin smoothie--something, ANYTHING--to prevent him from behaving like a buffoon. Something ain't right, folks! He's like a hyper-hypo in a Brooks Brothers suit. If he didn't busy himself with orchestrating fake press conferences, he'd probably be pulling a jungle gym down the street behind himself (SNL fans will understand).

[smirkymonkey]

80. LOL!

I just can't get that image out of ny head, but it's so perfect!

[OLDMDDEM]

47. Rmoney hasn't a clue.....

Rmoney is playing with people's lives here. On the Ed show you will see the vultures on the graph he shows once in a while. That is Rmoney. He waits to attack and then doesn't know what in the hell he is saying. He tried to make this into a political statement and failed just as he will in November.

[AllyCat]

50. Welcome to DU!

It is astonishing to me the stuff this guy says the media lets slide. I'm glad to see this isn't one of them.

My heart goes out to the victims and their families and the many more victims to come in this horrible situation.

[bayareaboy]

58. What do Chuck Toad and ....

John Bolton and Terrance Tom's from Finland James have in common. They got some hair on their face just like the sixties, but didn't expand their mind.

[cash__whatiwant]

60. they will double down...watch. nt

[ecstatic]

63. I'm trying SO hard not to hate Romney & Co.

Because hate is a strong emotion that only ends up hurting the "hater" in the long run... but that man (and his party) is so disgusting, it's getting really hard.

I turned to FOX to see what they were saying and was surprised to see a FAUX anchor ask a good question towards a surrogate who was saying that the State dept. should not have tweeted the message about free speech: "Do you think maybe they tweeted it because the compound was under attack and they were willing to say anything to save lives?"

[treestar]

66. It's reassuring to know there is SOME limit to the media's carrying water for Republicans

I had thought it possible it was limitless.

[MoonRiver]

68. RMoney deserved every bit of it.

It is beyond disgusting to try to capitalize on the deaths of American citizens.

[WinkyDink]

73. As in "Casablanca": Todd is shocked. SHOCKED!

[colsohlibgal]

75. Mitt's Shark Jumping Moment?

This may turn Obama's post convention surge into a full scale landslide.

What it shows more than anything is that this campaign is entering desperation mode.

The smart money has Obama winning, but if he can win by a bunch it may well help down ticket.

[jimlup]

81. Even a broken clock is right twice a day...

I'm not a big Chuck Todd fan but OK whatever dude. At least you aren't totally blinded by your preconceived notion of "fairness".

[lonestarnot]

82. Wow so am I! Shocked at chuckie akenpuckey.