The Hill: Republicans try to sink the president over his comment on Battleship
By Truman Project Staff | 10.23.12
Truman Executive Director Mike Breen appears in this piece in the Hill by Carlo Munoz:
Mitt Romney’s campaign on Tuesday launched a rhetorical broadside against President Obama for his debate-night zinger on the future of the Navy, hoping to use the comment to sink the president’s chances in a pair of key swing states.
During an exchange in Monday night’s final presidential debate, Obama delivered one of the more memorable lines when he parried Romney’s charge that the Navy is becoming weaker under the president’s leadership.
“You mentioned the Navy … and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916,” Obama said. “Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military has changed.”
Romney has campaigned on a plan to significantly increase the Navy’s fleet — one of the few clearly defined aspects of his defense and national security strategy.
Obama dismissed the GOP candidate’s nascent naval strategy with another one-liner.
“It’s not a game of Battleship, where we’re counting ships,” the president said.
The remarks sparked laughter among members of the debate audience at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., and were cheered by Obama supporters who felt the president made Romney look naïve about the modern military.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Truman National Security Project or Educational Institute
