Editing Romney’s ‘Apology’ Defense

[m...@facts.only.now]

Editing Romney’s ‘Apology’ Defense

A new ad from Mitt Romney’s campaign patches together pieces of
Romney’s debate defense of his claim that Barack Obama began his
presidency on an “apology tour” in the Middle East — leaving out parts
that are demonstrably untrue. But even with the benefit of careful
editing, Romney’s claim falls short of its billing.

Typically, when we fact-check quotes, it is often a matter of a
candidate selectively grabbing bits and pieces of his opponent’s
words, leaving out important pieces of context, to create a misleading
impression. Here, we have an unusual case of a Romney ad selectively
quoting its own candidate to misleading effect.

http://youtu.be/_rE3NZr_oMo

The ad begins with an edited version of Romney’s statements during the
debate (we’ve included the words cut out of the ad in bold).


Romney: And then the president began what I’ve called an apology tour
of going to various nations in the Middle East and criticizing
America. I think they looked at that and saw weakness.

During the debate, but not shown in the ad, Obama fired back, saying
that “this notion of me apologizing” has been “probably the biggest
whopper that’s been told during the course of this campaign, and every
fact-checker and every reporter that’s looked at it, governor, has
said this is not true.”

Obama is right about that. As we noted in our fact-check of the
debate, we reviewed all of the speeches that Romney cited in his book
“No Apology” to back up his claim that Obama went on an “apology
tour,” and we concluded that “we didn’t see that any of them rise to
the level of an actual apology.” Our fact-checking colleagues at
PolitiFact and the Washington Post Fact Checker reached the same
conclusion.

Romney went on later in the debate to explain what he meant. Again,
the ad shortens his words — conveniently leaving out one grossly
inaccurate claim. Here are Romney’s fuller comments at the debate (and
again, we have bolded the words left out of the ad).


Romney: Mr. President, the reason I call it an apology tour is because
you went to the Middle East and you flew to Egypt and to Saudi Arabia
and to Turkey and Iraq. And, by the way, you skipped Israel, our
closest friend in the region. But you went to the other nations. And
by the way, they noticed that you skipped Israel. And then in those
nations and on Arabic TV you said that America had been dismissive and
derisive. You said that on occasion America had dictated to other
nations. Mr. President, America has not dictated to other nations. We
have freed other nations from dictators.

So the ad leaves out Romney’s claim that while in the Middle East and
on Arabic TV, “you said that America had been dismissive and
derisive.” And for good reason. As we noted in our debate fact-check,
Obama’s “dismissive” and “derisive” comments were not actually made in
the Middle East, as Romney said, but rather during a speech Obama gave
in Strasbourg, France, in April 2009. Speaking to a European audience,
Obama said that among Americans there has been “a failure to
appreciate Europe’s leading role in the world” and that “there have
been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even
derisive.”

As for Romney’s claim that Obama told audiences in the Middle East
that America had “dictated to other nations,” the Romney campaign sent
us two comments as backup.

The first came during an interview of Obama on Al Arabiya TV on Jan.
27, 2009, shortly after Obama had been inaugurated as president. Obama
responded to a question about George Mitchell, then Obama’s personal
envoy to the Middle East, and the task of trying to negotiate a
cease-fire and ultimately, a lasting peace, between Israelis and
Palestinians.

Obama said that with regard to negotiations with Israelis and
Palestinians, he told Mitchell to “start by listening, because all too
often the United States starts by dictating — in the past on some of
these issues –and we don’t always know all the factors that are
involved. So let’s listen.”

Obama went on to say that “ultimately, we cannot tell either the
Israelis or the Palestinians what’s best for them. They’re going to
have to make some decisions.”

In this context, it is clear that Obama is not offering some sort of
apology for “dictating” to other nations.

The second example cited by the Romney campaign was from remarks Obama
made at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago on April 17,
2009.


Obama: While the United States has done much to promote peace and
prosperity in the hemisphere, we have at times been disengaged, and at
times we sought to dictate our terms. But I pledge to you that we seek
an equal partnership. There is no senior partner and junior partner in
our relations; there is simply engagement based on mutual respect and
common interests and shared values. So I’m here to launch a new
chapter of engagement that will be sustained throughout my
administration.

First, and most important, Obama was not addressing an audience in the
Middle East, as Romney said in the debate (and even in the shortened
version of his comments in the ad). And we stick by our assessment
that neither these comments Obama made in Trinidad and Tobago, nor any
others cited by Romney in his book, rise to the level of Obama
apologizing for America.

[Mark Hill]

On 10/25/2012 3:57 PM, m...@facts.only.now wrote:
> Editing Romney’s ‘Apology’ Defense

Why bother, let's go right to the actual speeches Obama made:

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2009/06/barack-obamas-top-10-apologies-how-the-president-has-humiliated-a-superpower

The following is a list of the 10 most significant apologies by the
President of the United States in his first four months of office as
they relate to foreign policy and national security issues.

1. Apology to France and Europe ("America Has Shown Arrogance")

Speech by President Obama, Rhenus Sports Arena, Strasbourg, France,
April 3, 2009.[1]


So we must be honest with ourselves. In recent years we've allowed our
Alliance to drift. I know that there have been honest disagreements over
policy, but we also know that there's something more that has crept into
our relationship. In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's
leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and
seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been

times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.

2. Apology to the Muslim World ("We Have Not Been Perfect")

President Obama, interview with Al Arabiya, January 27, 2009.[2]


My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not
your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect. But if
you look at the track record, as you say, America was not born as a
colonial power, and that the same respect and partnership that America
had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there's no
reason why we can't restore that.

3. Apology to the Summit of the Americas ("At Times We Sought to Dictate
Our Terms")

President Obama, address to the Summit of the Americas opening ceremony,
Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, April 17, 2009.[3]


All of us must now renew the common stake that we have in one another. I
know that promises of partnership have gone unfulfilled in the past, and
that trust has to be earned over time. While the United States has done

much to promote peace and prosperity in the hemisphere, we have at times
been disengaged, and at times we sought to dictate our terms. But I
pledge to you that we seek an equal partnership. There is no senior
partner and junior partner in our relations; there is simply engagement
based on mutual respect and common interests and shared values. So I'm
here to launch a new chapter of engagement that will be sustained
throughout my administration.

The United States will be willing to acknowledge past errors where those
errors have been made.

4. Apology at the G-20 Summit of World Leaders ("Some Restoration of
America's Standing in the World")

News conference by President Obama, ExCel Center, London, United
Kingdom, April 2, 2009.[4]


I would like to think that with my election and the early decisions that
we've made, that you're starting to see some restoration of America's
standing in the world. And although, as you know, I always mistrust
polls, international polls seem to indicate that you're seeing people
more hopeful about America's leadership.

I just think in a world that is as complex as it is, that it is very
important for us to be able to forge partnerships as opposed to simply
dictating solutions. Just to try to crystallize the example, there's
been a lot of comparison here about Bretton Woods. "Oh, well, last time
you saw the entire international architecture being remade." Well, if
there's just Roosevelt and Churchill sitting in a room with a brandy,
that's an easier negotiation. But that's not the world we live in, and
it shouldn't be the world that we live in.

5. Apology for the War on Terror ("We Went off Course")

President Obama, speech at the National Archives, Washington, D.C., May
21, 2009.[5]


Unfortunately, faced with an uncertain threat, our government made a
series of hasty decisions. I believe that many of these decisions were
motivated by a sincere desire to protect the American people. But I also
believe that all too often our government made decisions based on fear
rather than foresight; that all too often our government trimmed facts
and evidence to fit ideological predispositions. Instead of
strategically applying our power and our principles, too often we set
those principles aside as luxuries that we could no longer afford. And
during this season of fear, too many of us--Democrats and Republicans,
politicians, journalists, and citizens--fell silent.

In other words, we went off course. And this is not my assessment alone.
It was an assessment that was shared by the American people who
nominated candidates for President from both major parties who, despite
our many differences, called for a new approach--one that rejected
torture and one that recognized the imperative of closing the prison at
Guantanamo Bay.

6. Apology for Guantanamo in France ("Sacrificing Your Values")

Speech by President Obama, Rhenus Sports Arena, Strasbourg, France,
April 3, 2009.[6]


Our two republics were founded in service of these ideals. In America,
it is written into our founding documents as "life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness." In France: "Liberté"--absolutely--"egalité,
fraternité." Our moral authority is derived from the fact that
generations of our citizens have fought and bled to uphold these values
in our nations and others. And that's why we can never sacrifice them
for expedience's sake. That's why I've ordered the closing of the
detention center in Guantanamo Bay. That's why I can stand here today
and say without equivocation or exception that the United States of
America does not and will not torture.

In dealing with terrorism, we can't lose sight of our values and who we
are. That's why I closed Guantanamo. That's why I made very clear that
we will not engage in certain interrogation practices. I don't believe
that there is a contradiction between our security and our values. And
when you start sacrificing your values, when you lose yourself, then
over the long term that will make you less secure.

7. Apology before the Turkish Parliament ("Our Own Darker Periods in Our
History")

Speech by President Obama to the Turkish Parliament, Ankara, Turkey,
April 6, 2009.[7]


Every challenge that we face is more easily met if we tend to our own
democratic foundation. This work is never over. That's why, in the
United States, we recently ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed.
That's why we prohibited--without exception or equivocation--the use of
torture. All of us have to change. And sometimes change is hard.

Another issue that confronts all democracies as they move to the future
is how we deal with the past. The United States is still working through
some of our own darker periods in our history. Facing the Washington
Monument that I spoke of is a memorial of Abraham Lincoln, the man who
freed those who were enslaved even after Washington led our Revolution.
Our country still struggles with the legacies of slavery and
segregation, the past treatment of Native Americans.

Human endeavor is by its nature imperfect. History is often tragic, but
unresolved, it can be a heavy weight. Each country must work through its
past. And reckoning with the past can help us seize a better future.

8. Apology for U.S. Policy toward the Americas ("The United States Has
Not Pursued and Sustained Engagement with Our Neighbors")

Opinion editorial by President Obama: "Choosing a Better Future in the
Americas," April 16, 2009.[8]


Too often, the United States has not pursued and sustained engagement
with our neighbors. We have been too easily distracted by other
priorities, and have failed to see that our own progress is tied
directly to progress throughout the Americas. My Administration is
committed to the promise of a new day. We will renew and sustain a
broader partnership between the United States and the hemisphere on
behalf of our common prosperity and our common security.

9. Apology for the Mistakes of the CIA ("Potentially We've Made Some
Mistakes")

Remarks by the President to CIA employees, CIA Headquarters, Langley,
Virginia, April 20, 2009.[9] The remarks followed the controversial
decision to release Office of Legal Counsel memoranda detailing CIA
enhanced interrogation techniques used against terrorist suspects.


So don't be discouraged by what's happened in the last few weeks. Don't
be discouraged that we have to acknowledge potentially we've made some
mistakes. That's how we learn. But the fact that we are willing to
acknowledge them and then move forward, that is precisely why I am proud
to be President of the United States, and that's why you should be proud
to be members of the CIA.

10. Apology for Guantanamo in Washington ("A Rallying Cry for Our Enemies")

President Obama, speech at the National Archives, Washington, D.C., May
21, 2009.[10]


There is also no question that Guantanamo set back the moral authority
that is America's strongest currency in the world. Instead of building a
durable framework for the struggle against al Qaeda that drew upon our
deeply held values and traditions, our government was defending
positions that undermined the rule of law. In fact, part of the
rationale for establishing Guantanamo in the first place was the
misplaced notion that a prison there would be beyond the law--a
proposition that the Supreme Court soundly rejected. Meanwhile, instead
of serving as a tool to counter terrorism, Guantanamo became a symbol
that helped al Qaeda recruit terrorists to its cause. Indeed, the
existence of Guantanamo likely created more terrorists around the world
than it ever detained.

So the record is clear: Rather than keeping us safer, the prison at
Guantanamo has weakened American national security. It is a rallying cry
for our enemies.