Tracking GOP Presidential Contenders On Libya
Prospective Republican presidential candidates are walking a fine line in reacting to President Obama's handling of military intervention in Libya, with most supporting the mission but criticizing Obama for his handling of the crisis. And a recent poll reflects Americans' own ambivalence about the country's latest war.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll showed that 70% of Americans favor the no-fly zone - up 14 points in the last week. And overall, 50 percent approve how Obama's handled the situation. (Roughly half those surveyed were interviewed before the bombings began.)
But among Republicans, the split between the two responses is stark: 77 of GOPers favor a no-fly zone (the highest among partisan responses), but only 27 percent approve of Obama's handling of the situation.
That's created a challenge for Republicans to criticize the president, since the base is supportive of the mission, but highly critical of the president's tactics.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) said on the Hugh Hewitt Show Monday that he supports military action in Libya, but criticized the administration's multilateral approach, deferring to European allies and the Arab League before ultimately deciding to use force.
"I support military action in Libya. I support our troops there and the mission that they've been given. But let me also note that thus far, the President has been unable to construct a foreign policy, any foreign policy," Romney said. "And I believe that it flows from his fundamental disbelief in American exceptionalism."
On Monday, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) was critical of Obama for not being decisive enough early on in the process.
"(A) reasonable step like a no-fly zone -- done earlier, had we been decisive -- I think would have achieved not only the safety of the civilians... but it also would have given the rebels the opportunity to capitalize on the momentum they had a few weeks ago and push (Libyan leader Muammar el-Qaddafi) out," he told Fox News.
But Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R), who made news last week by suggesting American troops couldn't be in Afghanistan indefinitely, stands out from the pack on the Libya issue. He declined to criticize Obama's Libya approach during a speech March 14. "I think we need to be cautious about being quick on the trigger," Barbour said. "The idea of nation-building, in my opinion, is something we need to be very, very, very careful about."
And Saturday, he again refused to critique Obama's policy. "Whenever our men and women are involved in military action, every American stands with them and supports them as I do," he said to reporters before a speech. "This is not the time to critique what the administration has done or will do."
That's been the exception to the rule.
Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), who has focused predominantly on cultural issues in his campaign, has been one of the loudest critics of the president on Libya, telling Politico Sunday that he was "hesitant" to say the military campaign begun by the U.S. and allied forces was the right move. "We have some responsibility to move forward," he said. "It's going to take a lot more investment of time and energy because we didn't act in a timely fashion. ... I'm hesitant at this point to say that this was the right thing to do." Santorum said he envisioned a more limited strike.
It's a notable shift from his initial position on the conflict. In an interview earlier this month on Iowa radio station, Santorum took a notably different stance. "Ronald Reagan bombed Libya," Santorum said on WHO Radio's Jan Mickelson Show. "If you want to be Reagan-esque, it seems the path is pretty clear here."
On Fox News on Thursday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) said Obama was acting like a "spectator in chief" rather than a commander in chief in his reaction to the situation in Libya. In an interview with Greta Van Susteren on March 8, he came out in favor of exercising an immediate no-fly zone.
And former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), speaking in India this past weekend, said if she were president there would be "more decisiveness, less dithering," when it came to Libya.
-- Steven Shepard contributed to this report
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