(Community Matters) Romney’s statement feels like politics above national security – but it’s politics – scorpion and the frog – and it’s desperate times for their side so a Hail Mary. An inside peek:
from Politico Playbook: BEHIND THE CURTAIN — JOSH ROGIN, on ForeignPolicy.com, “Inside the public relations disaster at the Cairo embassy” : “One staffer at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo was responsible for the statement and tweets Tuesday that have become grist for the presidential campaign, and that staffer ignored explicit State Department instructions not to issue the statement … Obama commented on the controversy in an interview [with Steve Kroft for] ’60 Minutes.’ ‘In an effort to cool the situation down, it didn’t come from me, it didn’t come from Secretary Clinton. It came from people on the ground who are potentially in danger,’ Obama said. ‘And my tendency is to cut folks a little bit of slack when they’re in that circumstance, rather than try to question their judgment from the comfort of a campaign office.’ But Obama’s remarks belie the enormous frustration of top officials at the State Department and White House with the actions of the man behind the statement, Cairo senior public affairs officer Larry Schwartz, who wrote the release and oversees the embassy’s Twitter feed …
“[T]he statement was posted at exactly 12:18 p.m. Cairo time — 6:18 a.m. Washington time — well before the protests began. Romney has said, wrongly, that the statement was the administration’s first response to the protests, but the official said that the demonstrations did not begin until 4 p.m. Cairo time and protesters breached the wall about 2 hours later. After the breach, as public criticism of the statement grew, the Cairo Embassy Twitter account continued to send out tweets defending it, some of which were later deleted. … Schwartz sent the statement to the State Department in Washington before publishing and the State Department directed him not to post it without changes, but Schwartz posted it anyway.
“[A U.S. official said:] ‘There was a lot of anger both about the process and the content … The statement was just tone deaf. … We thought the references to the 9/11 attacks were inappropriate, and we strongly advised against the kind of language that talked about “continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims.”‘ … Schwartz has not yet been disciplined … and is still the lead public affairs officer.”
BEHIND THE ROMNEY CURTAIN – NYT A1, “A Challenger’s Criticism Is Furiously Returned,” by Peter Baker and Ashley Parker: “While Mr. Romney was on a four-hour flight from Reno, Nev., to Jacksonville, Fla., his senior staff – a mix of the policy shop, the communications team, and the strategy operation – crafted a statement on a conference call. Among those participating were Lanhee Chen, the policy director; Richard Williamson, a foreign policy adviser; and Stuart Stevens, the campaign strategist. As soon as Mr. Romney landed, he was updated on breaking developments. He personally read and approved his campaign’s statement before it was sent out at 10:10 p.m. Tuesday.”
The Cairo statement: “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.”
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