Through Biden, Obama Will Paint Romney as Extremist

Joe Biden in some ways is the most influential Veep ever--just in terms of how much presidential face time he gets. But now he's about to play what may be his most useful role: getting Barack Obama re-elected.


Biden plans to deliver a speech in New York City on Thursday that Obama campaign officials are portraying as the opening salvo of a tough critique of  Mitt Romney's extreme positions on foreign policy during the primary season. The speech, said one Obama official, will focus on the former Massachusetts governor's "chest thumping and empty rhetoric with no concrete plans to enhance our security or strengthen our alliances."  

I've been told the Biden speech will  foreshadow a theme of the fall campaign, during which Obama officials hope to portray Romney as someone whose irresponsible rhetoric and lack of clear, thought-out policies could possibly pull a war-weary nation back into conflict.

In various remarks during the primary season, Romney came close to calling for outright war with Iran, described Russia as "without question our number one geopolitical foe, " and decried Obama's withdrawal from Iraq as precipitous. He also opposed negotiating with the Taliban in Afghanistan despite support of that position from the U.S. military. In addition, Romney pledged to designate China as a currency manipulator and slap on tariffs -- ensuring a trade war -- "on day one of my presidency." 

Obama campaign officials would not comment on the specifics of Biden's speech, which will be delivered at New York University, except to say that the remarks will "draw the sharpest contrast yet between the administration's record on foreign policy and Governor Mitt Romney's foreign policy positions. Governor Romney has been all over the map on the key foreign policy challenges facing our nation today." 

Romney himself, on the stump, has already shown some sensitivity to the charge, telling audiences recently that he realizes that Americans have had a rough decade of war, but that nonetheless Iran can't be allowed to get a nuclear weapon. 

Asked to comment on the Biden speech, Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul reiterated the GOP line  Wednesday: "President Obama's feckless foreign policy has emboldened our adversaries, weakened our allies, and threatens to break faith with our military. In no region of the world is America's position stronger than it was three years ago."


Well, if I recall from about a year ago almost to the day, it is stronger in one place: Abbottabad, Pakistan, where on April 25, 2011 a fellow named Osama bin Laden was still living.