# Fuck Romney for politicizing the events in Egypt and Libya **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 12, 2012, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507 "2012-09-12T14:30:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/101 "2012-09-13T19:52:13Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > … - much of the criticism here is that Romney went on the offensive before the bodies were cold… My understanding of the time line is that he crafted his attack based on the Embassy’s letter deploring the denigration of Islam, which is before there were bodies to get cold. The Egyptian demonstration, while noisy and crude, was not by any stretch as violent as the attack in Bengazi. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/102 "2012-09-13T19:56:25Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Oxymoron. Well, yeah. To be clear, I was commenting on how we’re talking about this video and retard-Al waddles in and goes, “Oh, yeah, what about this video!” and it’s the same video. If it weren’t for stupid people, racists and assholes, who the fuck would be on the right? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/103 "2012-09-13T20:22:40Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Fuck Romney for politicizing events? > > You mean [like Obama used troop deaths to criticize Bush in 2008?](http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/barack-obama-used-troop-deaths-to-ding-bush-mccai) Like with **Omg** , who brought up the same thing, what’s your point exactly? If you’re saying, “these two things are the same for purposes of this debate,” which I presume is what you’re going for, can you say what shared characteristics make them the same? Because right now, we don’t have anything to agree or disagree with, to support or rebut. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/104 "2012-09-13T20:25:50Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Like with **Omg** , who brought up the same thing, what’s your point exactly? If you’re saying, “these two things are the same for purposes of this debate,” which I presume is what you’re going for, can you say what shared characteristics make them the same? Because right now, we don’t have anything to agree or disagree with, to support or rebut. Well, in one case the candidate was using a political spot to blame the president for deaths of soldiers, and in the other one, the candidate used a political spot to blame the president for riots in Libya. So I guess in that sense they are different. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/105 "2012-09-13T20:34:56Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Well, in one case the candidate was using a political spot to blame the president for deaths of soldiers, and in the other one, the candidate used a political spot to blame the president for riots in Libya. So I guess in that sense they are different. Personally, I’d like to see the rest of that video. In any case, you’re incorrect. Romney is saying that the president is apologizing for our freedoms. Something he didn’t do. Since he didn’t release that statement, and the statement itself isn’t an apologizing for our freedoms. So even if you accept the video as accurate (which is clipped abruptly), it’s a complete load of horseshit that you’re peddling here. I know you want each side to be equal, because you still adore the old girl, but she’s gone batshit insane. Like Courtney Love insane. This isn’t the GOP you fell in love with all those years ago. And at some point you need to accept that you’re covering for her terrible behavior. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/106 "2012-09-13T20:54:50Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > My understanding of the time line is that he crafted his attack based on the Embassy’s letter deploring the denigration of Islam, which is before there were bodies to get cold. The Egyptian demonstration, while noisy and crude, was not by any stretch as violent as the attack in Bengazi. It’s actually worse than that, **'luc**. He went ballistic on Obama over a tweet from _embassy personal_ that was put out _prior to the attack_ on the embassy itself. Cite: [FactCheck: Romney gets it backward on embassy attacks](http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20120913_FactCheck__Romney_gets_it_backward_on_embassy_attacks.html) > [@](#): > > A Timeline > > Contrary to multiple reports from Fox News, the U.S. embassy in Cairo - not the State Department in Washington - put out the statement on Sept. 11 several hours before a mob of protesters breached the wall of the embassy, took down an American flag and replaced it with a black flag. > > At 6:11 a.m. Eastern time (around noon Cairo time), the U.S. embassy in Cairo tweeted: “U.S. Embassy condemns religious incitement,” with a link to its full statement. (The tweet was later deleted and the link to the statement was taken down.) A senior administration official who spoke to reporters on a conference call confirmed that the statement was released at about noon Cairo time, which would have been at about 6 a.m. EST. That places the release of the statement several hours before the protest. > > So Romney was wrong about the statement from the embassy coming in response to the protest. Nor do we see any basis for Romney’s claim that the embassy statement was “apologizing for free speech” and “appeared to be an apology for American principles.” > > Here is the statement in its entirety: > > U.S. Embassy Condemns Religious Incitement > > \*September 11, 2012 > > The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims – as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. Today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans are honoring our patriots and those who serve our nation as the fitting response to the enemies of democracy. Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others. > > The “incitement” to which the statement refers is an obscure U.S. movie that was getting widespread attention in Egypt and the Arab world because of a 14-minute trailer posted on YouTube in early July. According to Max Fisher, an editor at The Atlantic, the movie accuses the prophet Mohammed and other Islamic figures of “homosexuality and child molestation” among other things…\* More at source. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/107 "2012-09-13T21:22:13Z")
C’mon, **RedFury** , they’re not going to let their campaign be dictated by the _facts_. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/108 "2012-09-13T21:54:09Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I guess he’ll have to take Reince Priebus with him too, then. > > On the Glenn Beck link: I thought for once Beck had picked a nice safe piece of low-hanging fruit - “rioters who kill people are bad” - but then he just had to fuck it up with the “God of Abraham” comment. Oh well… What? Didn’t you know? [Muslims worship a pagan Moon-god.](http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0042/0042_01.asp) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/109 "2012-09-13T22:02:50Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Personally, I’d like to see the rest of that video. In any case, you’re incorrect. > > Romney is saying that the president is apologizing for our freedoms. Something he didn’t do. Since he didn’t release that statement, and the statement itself isn’t an apologizing for our freedoms. > > So even if you accept the video as accurate (which is clipped abruptly), it’s a complete load of horseshit that you’re peddling here. > > I know you want each side to be equal, because you still adore the old girl, but she’s gone batshit insane. Like Courtney Love insane. This isn’t the GOP you fell in love with all those years ago. And at some point you need to accept that you’re covering for her terrible behavior. Can’t find the entire video, but I did a little detective work and determined that the video clip is from the July 15, 2008 broadcast of “Larry King Live.” [Here’s a transcript.](http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0807/15/lkl.01.html) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/110 "2012-09-13T22:08:42Z")
Missed the edit window. Also if you do a search on the sentence _But what George Bush and John McCain have missed consistently from the start of this process is the broader strategy._, it should get you to the portion in the clip. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/111 "2012-09-13T22:40:27Z")
I don’t follow this tu quoque. In 2008, one of the primary concerns was how and when to end the war in Iraq. Many people opposed it, and Obama was expressing concerns that resonated with people. People had created images of Bush’s face using images of dead service personnel. By the same token, people oppose… what? Obama’s policy towards embassies? Romney is tapping into a deep vein of public sentiment about… ambassadors? People are going to make images of Obama’s face using state department personnel? Apart from that, one was a fact based long term evaluation of a situation, and the other was a shoot from the hip premature, fact free offensive. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/112 "2012-09-13T22:51:43Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > C’mon, **RedFury** , they’re not going to let their campaign be dictated by the _facts_. Oh I know that – they’ve been making their own for quite a bit. I still remember the (in)famous quote Suskind got from a Bush aide way back when. Prob so do you. ''We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality." ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/113 "2012-09-13T22:56:57Z")
Probably sounds better in the original German. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/114 "2012-09-13T23:49:13Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Probably sounds better in the original German. Molly Ivins is always worth stealing lines from. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/115 "2012-09-13T23:53:27Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > What? Didn’t you know? [Muslims worship a pagan Moon-god.](http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0042/0042_01.asp) Unfortunately it is difficult to argue against the issue that [Aisha](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisha#Marriage_to_Muhammad) was 9 or 10 when Mohammad consummated their marriage. I don’t insist on 18, but 10 is seriously underage. 14-16 would be much more logical for a ‘child bride’. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/116 "2012-09-14T00:12:19Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Molly Ivins is always worth stealing lines from. 🙂 Have enough trouble remembering the lines without trying to keep track of where i stole them. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/117 "2012-09-14T01:49:27Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Unfortunately it is difficult to argue against the issue that [Aisha](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisha#Marriage_to_Muhammad) was 9 or 10 when Mohammad consummated their marriage. I don’t insist on 18, but 10 is seriously underage. 14-16 would be much more logical for a ‘child bride’. Not back in those days, and not among that particular culture I’m afraid. Rougher times and shittier times to be sure - but be wary of [presentism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_%28literary_and_historical_analysis%29). ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/118 "2012-09-14T01:51:25Z")
So, a hate-mongering fool produces a deliberately inflammatory video about the prophet of a religion that bans images of living creature, who preached respect for similar religions. (Another?) hate-mongering fool translates the video into Arabic and releases it on YouTube about a week before September 11th, resulting in the death of four people. Finally another hate-mongering fool decries and derides an expression of respect for all religions as weak and despicable before the bodies have stopped bleeding out. On September 11th. Can anyone here _ **really** _ defend that? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/119 "2012-09-14T02:04:31Z")
> [@j666](#): > > So, a hate-mongering fool produces a deliberately inflammatory video about the prophet of a religion that bans images of living creature, who preached respect for similar religions. > > (Another?) hate-mongering fool translates the video into Arabic and releases it on YouTube about a week before September 11th, resulting in the death of four people. > > Finally another hate-mongering fool decries and derides an expression of respect for all religions as weak and despicable before the bodies have stopped bleeding out. On September 11th. > > Can anyone here _ **really** _ defend that? Probably not. Why would anyone try to defend something that didn’t happen? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507/120 "2012-09-14T02:16:00Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Probably not. Why would anyone try to defend something that didn’t happen? Er, was the video already in Arabic, or did the Arab mobs understand it in English? The translation step is the only one on the list that might have been skipped. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-romney-for-politicizing-the-events-in-egypt-and-libya/634507.md?page=7)