Here's the setup, from a report by Laura Myers in the Las Vegas Review Journal (the bolding is mine):
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on Saturday criticized President Barack Obama's foreign policy in the Middle East, addressing a friendly GOP audience in Las Vegas in the run-up to his expected bid for the White House.
Romney said Obama hasn't been tough enough on Iran and its suspected nuclear weapons program. And he said he was surprised Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Syrian President Bashar Assad "a reformer" even as he puts down protests.
"Obama is either unwilling or incapable of dealing with this," Romney said, speaking about Iran and turmoil in the region at the Republican Jewish Coalition's winter meeting. "Israel's very existence may be at stake."
Yet Romney was silent on Libya, the newest and stickiest military and U.S. policy problem as the United States and its NATO allies enforce a no-fly zone to help rebels oust Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
After his speech, Romney refused to take questions from reporters about his position on Libya. Instead, he and his wife, Ann, fled down a hallway and escaped up an escalator at The Venetian, where the event was held.
"I've got a lot of positions on a lot of topics, but walking down the hall probably isn't the best place to describe all those," Romney said, deflecting a Libya query as he walked quickly with half a dozen journalists trailing him.
Here is Larison's take:
There were several ways that Romney could have handled this that wouldn?t have made him look ridiculous...
Larison then lists a number of plausible responses Romney might have weasel-worded while maintaining a Superman gleam in his hair. But not knowing which one was most expedient, he opted for none of them, choosing instead to put his expensive shoes into overdrive, with reporters chasing after him like linebackers futilely pursuing a pass receiver. Larison:
...it is just another reminder that Romney doesn?t hold foreign policy positions so much as he mimics those who do. There was fairly broad agreement in the GOP that the arms reduction treaty was flawed. It didn?t matter whether the criticisms were valid or not. Romney saw an opportunity to become a vociferous critic of the treaty to ingratiate himself with most of the party. Libya is a contentious issue, and the party is evidently split over which position to take, so Romney predictably cannot take one. For someone who is so fond of mocking Obama?s leadership or lack thereof, it is revealing that when Romney has to stake out a position one way or the other on a controversial question he is unable to show any leadership at all.
It's impressive though that Romney's wife Ann was able to keep up with him in this quick getaway, since she was probably wearing heels. I wonder if, once they reached the parking lot, he cried, "Serpentine! Serpentine!"
If not, that's something they might want to rehearse and add to Romney's repertoire of evasive maneuvers.
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