Obama Campaign: Romney Making “Reckless” Statements On Foreign Policy For Political Gain

The politics of a Middle East crisis.

Image by Brian Snyder / Reuters

PUEBLO, Co. — Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith blasted Mitt Romney for his criticism of the president’s comments on “60 Minutes” Sunday night calling recent Middle East turmoil “bumps in the road.”

In a statement distributed to reporters after Romney’s campaign rally here, Smith said Romney was making “reckless statements about the death of four Americans in Libya, apparently for the sole purpose of his own political gain.”

The harshly-worded Obama statement makes reference to Romney’s comments at a close-door fundraiser in Palm Beach, Florida earlier this year when he appeared to say he would take advantage a foreign policy crisis if the opportunity presented itself. Romney’s campaign later said he was referring to getting Iran to halt its nuclear program.

The full statement:

Today, we saw what Mitt Romney meant when he told a closed door group of high-dollar donors that he would ‘take advantage of the opportunity’ to politicize an international crisis to help his campaign. He’s purposely misinterpreting the President’s words and making reckless statements about the death of four Americans in Libya, apparently for the sole purpose of his own political gain. Using this incident to launch political attacks should be beneath someone seeking to be our nation’s Commander-in-Chief.