‘Romney Hawks New Hard Line’

In his steady march to the farther right, Mitt Romney has shifted his foreign policy approach from the GOP's realist school to the hardline neocon school, reports Politico's Ben Smith.

"Romney’s shift – from the GOP’s Condoleezza Rice wing to its Dick Cheney wing" comes as "voters have shown little inclination for more American engagement abroad" and risks having Obama cast Romney, as he cast Sen. John McCain four years ago, "as the candidate of endless war," Smith said.

"Romney hopes to contrast his unapologetic calls for U.S. strength with a president he will try to cast as weak and tentative," he added.  Never mind Obama's success in eliminating Osama Bin Laden and other prominent terrorist leaders.

One of the most outspoken hawks Romney has enlisted to help shape his worldview is the flamboyant John Bolton, George W. Bush's U.N. ambassador, who left that job and to become the administration's most outspoken critic from the right, rebuking Bush for being too soft on Iran, North Korea and the Palestinians. 

Bolton had briefly flirted with running for president himself, and Newt Gingrich has mentioned him as a possible secretary of state in a Gingrich administration.

About the Author
Douglas M. Bloomfield is a syndicated columnist, Washington lobbyist and consultant. He spent nine years as the legislative director and chief lobbyist for AIPAC.
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