Romney: VFW Speech (Video)

I so often hear critics say that Mitt Romney doesn't have passion, that he's a boring white guy.

Yes, he's a white guy, but his race should not be a reason to criticize him. Good grief! What is that? It's racism.

As far as Romney lacking passion, I think that's an unfair charge.

He's a fighter. He won't roll over like John McCain did in 2008.

The Democrats, the Leftist media, and their Leftist allies want Romney to be a caricature. They keep pounding away, trying to define Romney as the dull, rich, white guy.

Americans need to listen to Romney, and discover what a crock that caricature is.

In Reno yesterday, Romney addressed the VFW convention. It was a terrific speech.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Preparing for his first foreign travel as the unofficial Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney used a send-off speech before military veterans Tuesday to deliver a scathing indictment of President Obama's defense and foreign policies.

Tying the tepid economy at home to weakness abroad, Romney asserted that Obama's "policies have made it harder to recover from the deepest recession in 70 years, exposed the military to cuts that no one can justify [and] compromised our national security secrets."

"In dealings with other nations, he has given trust where it is not earned, insult where it is not deserved, and apology where it is not due," Romney said.

The convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars is a virtual command performance for presidential hopefuls; Obama addressed the group in Reno on Monday, winning a warm reception when he touted such achievements as the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Another tradition is avoiding harsh partisan rhetoric while on foreign soil, and Romney, who embarks Wednesday on a weeklong swing through England, Israel and Poland, acknowledged as much. But he showed no such restraint Tuesday, scoring Obama repeatedly even as he offered few specifics about what he would do if elected.

"A healthy American economy is what underwrites American power," said Romney, who was repeatedly interrupted by applause during his nearly 30 minutes of remarks. "When growth is missing, government revenues fall, social spending rises and many in Washington look to cut defense spending as the easy way out. That includes our current president."

Romney referred to massive defense cuts set for January as part of a deficit-cutting package that automatically kicks in unless Congress acts.

"Don't bother trying to find a serious military rationale behind any of this, unless that rationale is wishful thinking," Romney said. "Strategy is not driving the president's massive defense cuts. In fact, his own secretary of Defense warned that these reductions would be 'devastating.' And he's right."

Unspoken was the fact that Congress — not Obama — effectively put a gun to its own head on defense spending, adopting the cuts on a bipartisan vote as a way to force a long-term resolution of the nation's debt. So far, that effort has been unavailing.

Romney also attacked the administration over recent leaks of national security information, laying responsibility at the president's doorstep and calling it "a national security crisis." The leaks include news of U.S. cyber-attacks against Iran'snuclear program and details of an investigation into an Al Qaeda bombing plot.

"This conduct is contemptible," Romney said. "It betrays our national interest. It compromises our men and women in the field. And it demands a full and prompt investigation, with explanation and consequence.... The time for stonewalling is over."

Hugh Hewitt comments:

This was Mitt Romney's strongest speech of the campaign, and a huge hit with listeners when I replayed it in the first hour of the show. The voters who care most about national security will be the happiest with the remarks, but even those who are nearly completely focused on the economy and domestic policy will be very happy with the delivery and the reception he received. Callers used the word "Reaganesque" again and again, and the bill of particulars that Romney delivered laid out a lot of campaign themes for the 100 days ahead.

Hewitt suggests, "Don't trust media sound bytes to give you a sense of the speech. Watch it for yourself...."

I agree.

Don't trust the mainstream media. They lie. They distort. They spin.

Here's the full speech:



Here's the transcript of Romney's speech.