TRENDING: 'Horses and bayonets' shows Obama's debate strategy

CNN ^ | 10/22/2012 | Kevin Liptak

[Qbert]

(CNN) - Perhaps it only makes sense that a candidate who prepared for a presidential debate near Colonial Williamsburg would choose to slam Mitt Romney's plan for more Navy ships by using the phrase "horses and bayonets."

President Barack Obama's quip - meant to make the point that modern warfare doesn't require the type of equipment it did in the past - appeared part of a larger strategy of casting his opponent as stuck in a time warp on important issues. And Republicans, seeing an opening, are making sure shipbuilders just down the road from President Barack Obama's Virginia prep location are aware of the president's suggestion their industry is a thing of the past.

Obama made the jab Monday at his final debate with Mitt Romney.

"You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916," Obama said in a pointed jab at the GOP nominee. "Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military's changed."

He continued, "We had these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines. So the question is not a game of battleship where we're counting ships. It's 'What are our capabilities?'"

That was in response to an allegation from Romney that "our Navy is smaller now than at any time since 1917."

"The Navy said they needed 313 ships to carry out their mission," the Republican candidate continued. "We're now at under 285. We're headed down to the low 200s if we go through a sequestration. That's unacceptable to me."

[Snip]

Yet Republicans say Obama's lumping together of Navy ships with "horses and bayonets" could harm him in the key battleground of Virginia, where some of the Navy's largest shipbuilding...

[Drawsing]

I may be wrong, but from what I remember, back in 1916 we were not ready for World War I. We had very little of anything militarily.

[Caipirabob]

What a childish embarrassment.

I so agree.

Romney's performance was not for us. It was for the soft middle that he needed to lock up.

They listened to obama last night and thought "What. An. @ss."

Romney won them last night with his presidential demeanor.

Obama drove them away with his disrespect and disdain for Americans wanting a civil discussion on critical issues that impact the lives of hundreds of millions of people all over the planet.

[OpusatFR]

I wouldn’t worry. Hampton Roads is losing a complete carrier group, and the non-BRAC initiated closure, pretty possibly politically motivated of a planning and intelligence segment earlier in the year are duly noted in The Won’s personnel file.

He’s toast.

[GOPJ]

...seems to be about the level of Obama’s discourse... King Arthur comes face to face with the silly Frenchman.

good one butterdezillion

[KeyLargo]

Marines stick it to Obama with bayonet tweets and pics 29 mins ago

President Obama’s zinger during the final debate that the military has moved on from “horses and bayonets” is under attack by some Marines with first-hand knowledge of what terrifying weaponry troops use, and that totally still includes razor sharp bayonets. OK, Obama did say they use “fewer” bayonets now and while U.S. Marines do get the weapons in boot camp, bayonet training’s been off the syllabus at Army basic training since 2010. Seizing the opportunity to talk up their beloved weapons, Marines have been unleashing a Twitter torrent of bayonet facts and photos like those above ever since the words left the Commander in Chief’s lipshttp://now.msn.com/marines-respond-to-obama-debate-comment-tweeting-that-they-still-use-bayonets

[KeyLargo]

Do Democrats hate the U.S. Navy?
October 16, 2012 | 3:56 pm

A second Democratic campaign has been caught mistaking a foreign ship for a U.S. Navy vessel in images meant to brag on the candidate’s devotion to the military.

A month after the Democratic National Convention featured Cold War-era Soviet ships on a giant screen as a former Navy admiral representing the Obama campaign praised American veterans, the Democrat running for Senate in Connecticut featured a foreign sub in a television ad promoting his efforts to create jobs at the state’s sub-maker, General Dynamics’ Electric Boat of Groton.

Instead of Groton-made subs, the ad for Rep. Chris Murphy featured a Norwegian submarine. The ad maker apparently took the picture off an image website without checking what the featured sub was.

The pictures were shown as the ad announcer said, “Chris Murphy has a jobs plan, but he also has a jobs record. The Connecticut jobs Chris Murphy’s helped create are building a new industrial park in Waterbury, launch new subs in Groton.”

Republican challenger Linda McMahon was quick to jump on the mistake, putting up their own ad that calls Murphy a jokester. “Murphy brags about helping Electric Boat in Groton. Uhhhhhhhh, Chris, that submarine in your commercial, it’s from Norway, not Groton. Chris Murphy is a funny guy.”

Republican campaign officials said that the race has tightened since Mitt Romney’s winning performance in his first debate with President Obama.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/do-democrats-hate-the-u.s.-navy/article/2510912#.UIaZPGe5VnE

[GOPsterinMA]

“The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back.”

Really? Those policies worked pretty well, asshat.

I hate cold winters, but I cannot wait two more weeks until this slop is amply crushed, while also securing a GOP majority Senate and strengthened GOP House that will hopefully take a page from the Soviets and erase the slop and his four year error from existence.

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[wardaddy]

Why didn’t Romney counter that to equate horses and bayonets with naval ships was nonsensical?

that is the problem about last night

he barely countered jack

he just coasted

freepers will convince themselves all is well but the polls will tighten

and they did not have to

[kevkrom]

...this is ridiculous. I hope it’s true but I can’t see anyone casting their vote based on this stupid line. Especially in Virginia.

Not the line itself, but this dismissal of the navy ships in general. More ships = shipyard work = Norfolk.

Jobs being lost at Norfolk is already the subject of Senate campaign ads in VA. (Living in the DC area, I get to see VA election ads too. Yay.) Obama is harming himself and Kaine in the process by being dismissive to the Navy's shipbuilding needs.

[kevkrom]

Ships don’t go under water. Boats do.

Ships go under water after the boats are finished with them.

[cyberaxe]

...poor Joe Biden...

...no-one ever tells him anything...

...Clicky Thingy...

[Bigg Red]

Are we to assume that Governor Romney did not know that we had Aircraft Carriers and Submarines? Isn’t that the implication that Obama made?

&&&
No, his people gave him that line to help him paint Romney as someone who is not up to current trends. He is old, so unhip and uncool, you know, unlike our so very trendy POTUS, who hangs out with the cool people like Beyonce.

Since they haven’t got anything, his team decided to paint Romney as old fashioned and out of touch. In another line, he said something along the lines of Romney having social policies from the 1950s and defense policies from the 1920s. It was actually a well-written line, but Obummer was in such a hurry to throw it out there before he forgot it that he flubbed the delivery badly.

He delivered the line you are referring to quite well, however. He seems to excel with sarcasm and derision. I’m surprised he did not try his trick of slyly giving Romney the finger, as he has done to others on 2 occasions that
I am familiar with.

[Qbert]

"I so agree. Romney's performance was not for us. It was for the soft middle that he needed to lock up. They listened to obama last night and thought "What. An. @ss." Romney won them last night with his presidential demeanor. Obama drove them away with his disrespect and disdain for Americans wanting a civil discussion on critical issues that impact the lives of hundreds of millions of people all over the planet."

Good points. While I think a lot of us may have wanted Romney to come out swinging like he did in the first debate, his strategy makes sense in retrospect for exactly the reasons you mention. Obama wanted so desperately to paint Romney as his favorite (and predictable) target, George W. Bush- and Romney wisely didn't take the bait.

It was a more subtle performance by Romney last night- but he was able to cast his foreign policy views as a continuation of Reagan's successful, common-sense, peace-through-strength policies (as opposed to Bush 43's more debatable- even to many on the right- and certainly more controversial policies), all the while managing to stand up for our closest allies. Subtle, but quite a feat, actually.

[a fool in paradise]

Barack Obama is NOT The One to lead this nation as Commander in Chief. His ideas are NOT about “better defense with fewer resources”. He wants fewer arms PERIOD. He killed new weapon development and seeks to drive our nuclear arsenal to ZERO. That is a FACT.

It’s about crippling this nation’s military, nothing ELSE.

Obama lies like a Stalinist.

[a fool in paradise]

Barack Obama is NOT The One to lead this nation as Commander in Chief. His ideas are NOT about “better defense with fewer resources”. He wants fewer arms PERIOD. He killed new weapon development and seeks to drive our nuclear arsenal to ZERO. That is a FACT.

It’s about crippling this nation’s military, nothing ELSE.

Obama lies like a Stalinist.

[Harley]

First Obama needs to get his terminology correct. The only boats the Navy has are submarines. Everything else is a ship. He also needs to remind himself the Navy SEALS use both ships and subs to be inserted into AORs. I will bet you that SEALS train regularly in use of horses, jet-skis, rollerblades, skis, bayonets, knives, guns, candle sticks and whatever can be used to accomplish a mission.

[MHGinTN]

Shirley you’ve heard that sage advice, “Wrestle with a turd and you get shit all over you”? Romney didn’t need to address the Libya evil, the media jumped all over the topic because Romney didn’t! Romney had an aire of presidential, whereas little barry bastard boy looked like what he is, a petulent drug-addled liar, who tries to bully but is too much of a wuss to git’er dun. The fact that little barry reverted to his natural childish self is proof he is at a loss to be what the media has pretended he is. The mic buried in his ear didn’t help him grow up. Little barry taqqiya fool is not up for the affirmative action promotion his democrap party and the propaganda fifth column enemedia has handed to him.

[MHGinTN]

No, little barry taqqiya lies like a mooselimb.

[RobbyS]

After the election we will see the new “Lincoln”movie. Reminding us, that as Lincoln began to see that his generals were not up to the task, he began to hit the books in order to master military strategy , tactics and logistics. He learned enough to realize his own limitaions, that he could not take to the field as CINC, and he did learn what sort of generals he must have, and what kind of war he must fight. To give him his due, FDR realized this also. And as an “old naval person,” he would have been appalled by Obama’a answer.