This transcript of CNN\’s Wolf Blitzer interviewing eventual Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, is from March 26, 2012.
Read it and decide for yourself whether we could have had better – maybe a great deal better – than what we have today:
BLITZER: The president of the United States is in South Korea right now, had ameeting with the Russian leader Medvedev, and he was heard with anopen mike – it\’s always dangerous for these politicians or leaders tobe talking near an open mike.
Hewas heard saying this to Medvedev, the Russian president. Listen to this.
(BEGINVIDEO CLIP)
BARACKOBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is my lastelection. After my election, I have more flexibility.
DMITRYMEDVEDEV, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: I understand you. I transmitthis information to Vladimir, and I stand with you.
(ENDVIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: All right, in case you didn\’t hear it: “This is my lastelection. And after my election, I have more flexibility.”That is a factual statement that the president is making. If hedoesn\’t have to worry getting reelected, he doesn\’t have to worry somuch about domestic politics.
Isthere anything wrong in – when in comes to national security issues,to be saying something like that to the Russian leader?
ROMNEY: Yes, there\’s something terribly wrong with that.
Itis alarming. It is troubling. The agreement that thepresident put in place with regards to nuclear weapons is one which Ifind very, very troubling already. The decision to withdraw ourmissile defense sites from Poland put us in greater jeopardy, in myview.
Theactions he\’s taken so far, which he says are to reset relations withRussia have not worked out at all. Russia continues to supportSyria. It supports Iran, has – has fought us with the cripplingsanctions we wanted to have the world put in place against Iran.
Russiais not a friendly character on the world stage. And for thispresident to be looking for greater flexibility, where he doesn\’thave to answer to the American people in his relations with Russia,is very, very troubling, very alarming.
Iam – I\’m very, very concerned. I think the American people aregoing to feel the same way. This is a president who is telling us onething and doing something else and is planning on doing somethingeven more frightening.
BLITZER: Well, when you say even more frightening, what\’s he planning ondoing, in your opinion?
ROMNEY: Well, my guess is it has to do either with – with nuclear armsdiscussions or it has to do with missile defense sites. What hedid both on nuclear weaponry already in the – in the new STARTtreaty, as well as his decision to withdraw missile defense sitesfrom – from Poland and then reduce our missile defense sites inAlaska from the original plan, I mean these are very unfortunatedevelopments. And if he\’s planning on doing more and suggeststo Russia that – that he has things he\’s willing to do with them,he\’s not willing to tell the American people – this is to Russia,this is, without question, our number one geopolitical foe. They – they fight every cause for the world\’s worst actors. The I -the idea that he has some more flexibility in mind for Russia isvery, very troubling, indeed.
BLITZER: But you think Russia is a bigger foe right now than, let\’s say, Iranor China or North Korea? Is that – is that what you\’re suggesting,Governor?
ROMNEY: Well, I\’m saying in terms of a geopolitical opponent, the nation thatlines up with the world\’s worst actors. Of course, the greatestthreat that the world faces is a nuclear Iran. A nuclear NorthKorea is already troubling enough.
Butwhen these – these terrible actors pursue their course in the worldand we go to the United Nations looking for ways to stop them, when -when Assad, for instance, is murdering his own people, we go – we goto the United Nations, and who is it that always stands up for theworld\’s worst actors?
Itis always Russia, typically with China alongside.
And- and so in terms of a geopolitical foe, a nation that\’s on theSecurity Council, that has the heft of the Security Council and is,of course, a – a massive nuclear power, Russia is the – thegeopolitical foe and – and the – and they\’re – the idea that ourpresident is – is planning on doing something with them that he\’s notwilling to tell the American people before the election is somethingI find very, very alarming.
Is there any doubt that Mitt Romney understood the reality of dealing with Russia better than Barack Obama ? Not just a little better, but the difference between night and day?
And that is who we could have had in office instead of Barack Obama, for the past year-plus.
Forget whether Mr. Romney would be handling the current situation better. The question is whether Putin would have ignored him and sent in troops in the first place.
We\’ll never know for sure. But what do you suppose the prospects would have been?
Three more years of this administration. Three years too many….following five years too many.
I count the days….
