Sen. John McCain slammed the president for criticizing Gov. Mitt Romney on his lack of experience in foreign policy, a tactic he said he deployed in a more respectful manner when campaigning against Obama in 2008.
“I don’t understand why the president seems to want to take these cheap shots,” McCain said. “Bayonets and horses – what’s that all about?”
After Gov. Romney noted that the Navy is smaller today than it was a century ago, Obama rebutted him saying that the armed forces also have “fewer horses and bayonets” and modern warfare is very different.
While then-Senator Obama’s limited foreign policy experience was a centerpiece of McCain’s own presidential campaign, the senator said he “didn’t criticize or belittle his lack of experience,” adding that to do so is “not presidential.”
When asked about Romney’s qualifications in foreign policy, McCain doubled down on Romney’s business experience: “Mitt Romney has traveled a lot around the world; he’s had business interests; and he has a very close relationship with the Prime Minster of Israel.”
McCain also criticized Obama for his policies in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying his remarks “defy reality.” “To say that everything is fine in Iraq is one of the great leaps of the imagination. Iraq is going to hell in a handbasket,” McCain said. “The president has overruled his advisers on several occasions as to withdrawal date and numbers of troops and that has put us in a very precarious position.” Romney’s policies on the Middle East and war considerably softened last night, which McCain says will help Romney appeal to women and war-weary Americans. “I think he helped himself with [women voters] by showing he has a centrist approach,” McCain added.
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