THE STUMP MARCH 26, 2012
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As you may have heard, Barack Obama got caught chatting with Dmitri Medvedev on a mike that he didn't realize was on. Here's what they said:
“On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it’s important for him to give me space,” Obama can be heard telling Medvedev, apparently referring to incoming Russian president — and outgoing prime minister — Vladimir Putin.
“Yeah, I understand,” Medvedev replies, according to an account relayed by an ABC News producer, who said she viewed a recording of the discussion made by a Russian camera crew. “I understand your message about space. Space for you ...”
“This is my last election,” Obama interjects. “After my election I have more flexibility.”
Medvedev, who last week demanded written proof that Russia is not the intended target of U.S. missile defense efforts, responded agreeably.
“I understand,” he told the U.S. president. “I will transmit this information to Vladimir.”
Just imagine the glee with which news of this exchange was received by one Willard Mitt Romney. For once, someone other than himself was saying things that, especially if taken a little out of context, could be put to good use by opponents! Use such as this, as Romney deployed today:
"This weekend, the president happened to be somewhere where the microphone was left open. You may have heard that. It can be revealing, in this case, it was. He was speaking with Mr. Medvedev, of Russia. And he said, ‘This is my last election, I can be more flexible after the election is over.’ Now when the president of the United States is speaking with the leader of Russia saying he can be more flexible after the election, that is an alarming and troubling development. This is no time for our president to be pulling his punches with the American people. And not telling us what he’s intending to do with regards to our missile defense system, with regards to our military might and with regards to our commitment to Israel and with regard to our absolute conviction that Iran must (sic) have a nuclear weapon. I will make it very clear that the relationship we have around the world is one where America will be strong, that America’s strength and commitment to our friends and allies will be unshakable and unwavering."
Yes, because the first thing our rivals abroad will think when they contemplate the prospect of a Romney presidency is: "Wait, is this the man we have been hearing about, that leader of unshakable resolve who has been so unwavering in his commitments? We shake in our fur-lined boots!"
*Addendum, 3:03 p.m.: Romney was hardly the only one to jump on the hot mic moment with alacrity. Jennifer Rubin, the Washington Post's Pravda aspirant, titled her post on the exchange: "Obama's hot mic disaster." How do you say hyperventilate in Russian?
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13 comments
Doesn't "more flexibility" just mean that leaders, legislators, & politicians are more likely to tackle major legislation & treaties when it's not the middle of campaign season, when it's after elections so they can focus on policy instead of public relations & points-scoring? Everyone knows this. It is not a whispered secret. This wouldn't be a controversial hot mic blurb even if GW Bush had said it. In fact, Obama's semi-private utterance is less controversial than that hypothetical equivalent because at least Obama has real professional experience addressing the matter of Russian weapons systems.
- Konstantin
March 26, 2012 at 2:43pm
Isn't the cold war over yet? Oh.
- skahn
March 26, 2012 at 3:30pm
Isn't the cold war over yet? Oh.
- skahn
March 26, 2012 at 3:30pm
What Konstantin said - the only way we were able to get START II ratified was in the lame duck session - after the mid term elections when a lot of those profiles in courage who weren't facing reelection, either because they had just won a six year term, or were going home, by choice or otherwise, had flexibility. Romney is a joke, and the part about Putin shaking in his fur lined boots was right on.
- dubyadoubte
March 26, 2012 at 4:03pm
dubya, the last defense treaty was signed under the lame duck session under Obama as well. And if Romney misspoke about Iran, I would have no problem playing him saying that Iran must have a nuclear weapon just to shut that phoney ahole up for a second.
- blackton
March 26, 2012 at 4:14pm
Well, if the Russians give us the money for Alaska back -- plus adjustment for inflation -- it's a win-win situation. Alaska will be restored to its natural continent and we can solve our deficit issues. Our colleague Jeff Frey might not be too keen, however.
- ironyroad
March 26, 2012 at 4:45pm
Concerning the "*Addendum" : It would be a great service to the voting public if TNR were to compile a triple-column list of gaffes, blunders, and "disasters" committed by GW Bush, Obama, and Romney (and maybe Biden for the sake of balance). Let's all compare the magnitude of the mistakes & instances of misspeaking by these figures. We could even do a meta-analysis, maybe include an Ezra Klein-esque bar graph, of old professional fact-checking assessments of each figure's [mis]statements. Judging by conservative media outlets, the outrage over Obama's accidental "all 57 states" faux pas 4 years ago or today's "flexibility" hot mic moment should be greater than the outrage over, say, Bush reading "My Pet Goat" for several minutes while Americans died in a terrorist attack. (Can you say "false equivalence?") "Hyperventilate"? We wish. The right seems to have no grasp of the correct times to "hyperventilate." I'm sure TNR's interns already have a ready inventory for this project. You would just need to add some journalistic-editorial input, quantify the political & factual significance of each data point, and show some stats to demonstrate the varying real magnitudes of each gaffe, or "disaster."
- Konstantin
March 26, 2012 at 4:57pm
Also, I wouldn't mind if there were a literary comparison between Jennifer Rubin's nonsense and quotations from The Onion's "American Voices." http://www.theonion.com/features/american-voices/ I smell Pulitzer.
- Konstantin
March 26, 2012 at 4:59pm
Even after adjusting for inflation, you would want to finish sucking out all the oil and gas first. And I love Russia, but I'd keep my US citizenship! Funny how Mitt dragged Israel and Iran into this, getting Iran wrong. But what I would really like to see is a discussion about missile defense that is grounded in the reality of the system and not the fantasy. The reality is that the system was declared operational long before it had passed any realistic tests. I haven't kept up for the last few years, but even after Bush declared it operational, the interceptors were failing to hit even targets that had homing beacons on them.
- JEFF FREY
March 26, 2012 at 5:25pm
Would Palin go with Alaska? And while we're at it, could Citi, BofA and Chase get tossed into the deal? Throw in Geitner too. We'll unload much of our mess on to them and fix a lot in one fell swoop.
- tmmats
March 26, 2012 at 5:27pm
"I'm running for office for Pete's sake. I can't have illegals," said Mr. Romney about his facade during campaigning.
- Nusholtz
March 26, 2012 at 5:42pm
Jeff, I heard that even if the incoming missiles generated radar blips with arrows and a flashing icon with the words "AIM HERE," the system couldn't hit them.
- ironyroad
March 26, 2012 at 6:18pm
OFFS. Honestly I don't get why this comment, on or off mic, is such a big deal. Anyway, tmmats read my mind:) There are some other folks who might be happier in Siberia too, where they could preach and preach to their heart's content:)
- Sophia
March 27, 2012 at 1:42pm