During an appearance on Meet the Press today, Mitt Romney took another swipe at his chief primary opponent, Mike Huckabee, calling on him to apologize to President Bush for describing the current U.S. foreign policy as "arrogant bunker mentality."
"That's an insult to the president and Mike Huckabee should apologize to the president," Romney said when read Huckabee's statement by moderator Tim Russert. "To say that the president is arrogant and has a bunker mentality, that's when he went over the line."
The attack underscores a two-prong approach for the former Massachusetts Governor. While appealing to more hawkish, neoconservative Republican voters, Romney is also seeking to reinforce that Huckabee is inexperienced and weak on foreign policy.
On Friday, Huckabee attempted to address concerns that he lacked knowledge and gravitas in international affairs by penning a lengthy article detailing his world views for the journal Foreign Affairs. In the piece, the former Arkansas Governor offered relatively non-specific takes on Iraq, Iran, and other foreign policy hotspots. But the most noteworthy takes were criticisms of President Bush.
"American foreign policy needs to change its tone and attitude, open up, and reach out," Huckabee said. "The Bush administration's arrogant bunker mentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad. My administration will recognize that the United States' main fight today does not pit us against the world but pits the world against the terrorists."
Huckabee went on to offer a few specific criticisms of the President -- mainly that he did not initially provide enough troops to invade Iraq and did not listen to critiques and dissension from within the military.
With the Iowa caucus only weeks away and his lead having disappeared, Romney jumped on the remarks, declaring on Saturday: "It sounds like something Barack Obama or John Edwards would say - not what you hear from someone running for president as a Republican," Romney told reporters.
Huckabee responded during his Sunday appearance on CNN's Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer, accusing Romney of taking his article out of context and flip-flopping on the Iraq War troop surge.
Well, I think he needs to read the article.It would really help if he would do that.Because if he did, he would see that there's no apology necessary to the president. I'm the one who actually supported the president's surge... So, you know, I don't have anything to apologize for. But I'm running for president of the United States.I've got to show that I do have my own mind when it comes to how this country ought to lead, not only within its own borders but across the world. And what I demonstrated in that article -- and I invite people to actually read it and not just take what my opponents say that it says, what they're going to see is that I believe America has to have the strongest possible military on the face of the planet.So strong that nobody wants to engage us in battle. But also a nation that recognizes that we do better when we are partners with the entire world standing against the threat of Islamo-fascism than when we simply say that we're going to do it our way, and if you don't want to do it our way, then we brand you as being with the other side.