ROMNEY LIES ABOUT PRESIDENT OBAMA'S SO-CALLED "APOLOGY TOUR"

A vicious falsehood that Romney the Liar has uttered again and again is his assertion that President Obama began his term by going around the world "apologizing for America". This lie, which is also heard regularly on those rivers of vomit known as Right Wing Hate Radio and Fox "News", has been nailed dead definitively. I quote, at some length, Glenn Kessler, fact checker for The Washington Post, who begins by quoting Willard's pathetic lie:

“The president went about this all wrong. He went around the world and apologized for America. He addressed the United Nations in his inaugural address and chastised our friend, Israel, for building settlements, and said nothing about Hamas launching thousands of rockets into Israel.” — Romney

Regarding the supposed apology, we have repeatedly called this out as a Four-Pinocchio falsehood. [That's the worst level.]  A careful review of all of Obama’s overseas statements found that they had been taken out of context or had been misquoted. Frequently, Obama expressed sentiments not much different than George W. Bush on overseas trips. 

Early in his presidency, Obama often tried to draw a rhetorical distinction between his policies and Bush’s policies, a common practice when the presidency changes parties. The shift in policies, in fact, might have been more dramatic from Bill Clinton to Bush than from Bush to Obama, given how Obama has largely maintained Bush’s approach to fighting terrorism.

Meanwhile, Romney is right that Obama did not mention Hamas by name in his first speech to the United Nations, but Obama did glancingly refer to the rocket attacks: “It’s [the price of no peace] not paid by politicians. It’s paid by the Israeli girl in Sderot who closes her eyes in fear that a rocket will take her life in the middle of the night. It’s paid for by the Palestinian boy in Gaza who has no clean water and no country to call his own.” 

As to whether Obama chastised Israel, that’s an opinion. Obama certainly did not do that this week, [September 2011] instead offering fulsome praise. We recently reviewed all three of Obama’s speeches at the United Nations, and how much his language has shifted. 

However, months earlier in 2009, Obama did speak about Hamas (though not the rocket attacks) in his famous speech to the Arab world in Cairo. One could argue the reference in this speech may have had more impact than one at the United Nations. Here’s what Obama said: 

“Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, and to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel’s right to exist.” [Emphasis added]


You see, this is all about the effort the Republican propaganda machine has been making since 2008 to cast Barack Obama as "anti-American", "not one of us", "not a Real American", "a foreigner", "the Other", etc. Willard, being a prostitute of the lowest caliber, is simply spewing out the kind of hate and lies the Republican base thrives on, just telling 'em what they want to hear. He knows this whole "apology tour" assertion is pure and utter garbage. But he says it again and again and again, because he wants to win so badly that he'll say or do ANYTHING. That's not just the mark of a damned liar, although a damned liar Romney surely is. It's the mark of a morally bankrupt fraud who sees everybody else in the world simply as a means to his own ends.