Health Care For The Poor

“We are here to visit military personnel in Afghanistan, and we found out this afternoon the president would be coming in. And we were fortunate enough to be invited to witness the signing of the long-term relationship agreement.”

– Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, who was on a visit to Kabul when Obama arrived

“I think it’s a good thing. I think it’s always good when the president goes to where young men and women are in harm’s way, and I think that many of us who have been involved in Afghanistan are very supportive of the strategic partnership agreement, which I’m sure he’ll be talking about. We think the agreement is good.”

– Arizona Sen. John McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee and Obama’s onetime presidential rival

“There’s nothing new in the agreement. It just basically says we’re going to have an ongoing relationship; we’re not going to have any permanent bases. We’ll work together as partners, and the troops — fighting troops — will be out in 2014. It says what we’ve already been doing.”

– Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-California, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee

“Tonight’s agreement will help bring about an Afghanistan that is more secure from al Qaeda’s return and from Taliban domination. That is a real achievement for both our countries, for the region and for the world. It was an especially powerful moment to witness what I believe will be a big step toward ending a long war that has demanded so much sacrifice from the men and women who serve our nation and their families.”

– Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who had gone to Kabul with Reed on a previously scheduled trip

“Clearly, this trip is campaign-related. We’ve seen recently that President Obama has visited college campuses in an attempt to win back the support of that age group since he has lost it over the last three years. Similarly, this trip to Afghanistan is an attempt to shore up his national security credentials, because he has spent the past three years gutting our military.”

– Sen. James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, in a prepared statement

“With the signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement, we have reached a turning point in the Afghan war. With proper implementation, this agreement will be the end of the Taliban’s dream of retaking Afghanistan. The SPA shows a commitment to the development and security of Afghanistan over the next decade, an event which is in our own national security interests.”

– Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, another Armed Services member

“I applaud him being in Afghanistan. I think it’s important for the troops to see the president. And certainly after all of these years of fighting where the troops have done such heroic work and did such an outstanding job, I think it’s important for the president to be there and signing the agreement with President Karzai.”

– Rep. Peter King, R-New York, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Vice President Joe Biden blasted Mitt Romney’s foreign policy vision on Thursday as backward-looking and tied to George W. Bush, hammering the presumptive Republican nominee for thinking like a CEO and not like a commander in chief.

The remarks were Biden’s latest attempt to define Romney as out of touch with Americans, and his foreign policy critique marked a shift from the Obama campaign’s focus on economic and domestic differences with the president’s Republican rival.

Biden, who has served as an attack dog against the former Massachusetts governor, executed a point-by-point smackdown of Romney’s positions on Russia, Iran, and Afghanistan while defending the administration’s national security record.

“Governor Romney, I think, is counting on collective amnesia,” he said to a group of students in New York.

“Americans know that we can’t go back to the future, back to a foreign policy that would have America go it alone, shout to the world ‘You’re either with us or against us,’ lash out first and ask the hard questions later … isolate America instead of isolating our enemies.”

Though Biden did not dwell on Bush, the implication was clear: Romney would return to an era of go-it-alone bravado on the international stage. The Obama campaign wants to tie Romney directly to Bush for launching two unpopular wars and presiding over an economy that sputtered badly at the end of his term in office.

Though the economy is expected to be the defining issue of the 2012 election, Obama’s advisers see his record on foreign policy as a strength.

Ending the war in Iraq and severely weakening al Qaeda are among the accomplishments that the campaign sees as unimpeachable victories to highlight with voters.

“If you are looking for a bumper sticker to sum up how President Obama has handled what we inherited, it’s pretty simple: Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive,” Biden said.

Romney’s campaign shot back in a conference call with reporters, describing the Obama administration as paralyzed over Syria and weak on Iran and North Korea.

“The vice president seems to focus on a fantasy narrative, if you will, about the Obama administration’s record in improving America’s relations in the world,” said Romney senior adviser Dan Senor.

“It is President Obama’s track record that has sent a message to our friends and allies, be they in governments or be they in dissident movements who want to stand with us, who want to lock arms with us, who are looking to American leadership, who are really left exposed and isolated,” he said.

BIG STICK, COMMANDER IN CHIEF

Picking up on a theme often expounded by the Obama campaign, Biden criticized Romney for shifting positions on a variety of foreign policy issues, and used verbatim quotes from the governor to illustrate his point.

Romney applauded the withdrawal of troops from Iraq in December, then months later called it an “enormous error,” the vice president said. Romney endorsed Obama’s timeline for a 2014 withdrawal from Afghanistan before later calling it a big mistake, Biden said.

Biden zeroed in on Romney for commenting that a president did not need to have foreign policy expertise because he could rely on advisers at the State Department.

“Governor Romney’s fundamental thinking about the role of the president in foreign policy is fundamentally wrong,” Biden said. “That kind of thinking may work for a CEO, but I assure you it will not and cannot work for a president, and it will not work for a commander in chief.”

Romney has made his background as a businessman a top selling point of his presidential bid.

Romney’s campaign said the president had given more than he got in arms reduction talks with Russia and that the White House had shown weakness by not arming Syrian rebels.

“We have to work with our Arab allies, with our Saudi and Turkish allies in the region, to meaningfully identify, organize and arm the opposition because currently they’re up against a Syrian army which is being armed by Russia,” said Romney foreign policy director Alex Wong.

“Right now what we see from the Obama administration has been confusion, delay and paralysis.”

The White House says it does not believe this is the time to contribute to “militarization” in Syria.

Biden also took on Romney on the issue of Iran. Romney has said the president has been weak with Tehran and slow to impose tough sanctions.

“He says we need ‘crippling sanctions,’ apparently unaware that through President Obama’s leadership we’ve produced just that: crippling sanctions,” Biden said, knocking Romney for “loose talk” of war that drives up oil prices and could boost Iran’s coffers.

“Now is the time to heed the timeless advice from Teddy Roosevelt: speak softly and carry a big stick,” Biden said. “I promise you, the president has a big stick.”

(Additional reporting by Lily Kuo; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Story By: by Mark Memmott

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Saying that Mitt Romney may not be able to “grind his way toward the nomination” despite a huge fundraising advantage, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told NPR today that he sees no reason to exit the Republican presidential race and that there’s a chance of a new contender emerging at the party’s convention in August.

“I’m not so sure you wouldn’t get a series of brand new players” stepping forward during a brokered convention, he told Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep.

Or, he said, he might emerge as the convention’s choice. Gingrich said he expects to end the primary season with the third most delegates — with Romney at No. 1 and Rick Santorum at No. 2.

Gingrich also repeated criticisms he has leveled at Romney throughout the campaign. First, that “conservative voters are deeply worried about Gov. Romney.” Second, that if the former Massachusetts governor is heavily outspending his GOP rivals and “is barely winning” in the battle for the nomination, there’s “no reason to think Romney is going to with the general election” against President Obama.

More from the interview is due on Thursday’s broadcast of the show. We’ll add the as-broadcast version of Steve’s conversation with the former House speaker to the top of this post after it airs. Click here to find an NPR station that broadcasts or streams the show.

For much more coverage of the 2012 presidential campaign, check our Elections 2012 page.

Editor’s note: Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a CNN.com contributor and a nationally syndicated columnist.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ruben Navarrette Jr.

CNN’s Tina Burnside contributed to this story

Story By: by Peter O’Dowd

President Obama visits Phoenix Wednesday as part of a five-state campaign tour. The campaign thinks it can win Arizona, and that’s an unlikely ambition for this conservative state. But Obama might have a chance. Unlikely upsets have dominated Arizona politics lately. The electorate is in flux.

Story By: by Andrea Seabrook

President Obama has delivered what could be his last State of the Union address as he fights for re-election. How did speech go over with the 535 members of Congress? Among those commenting, California Republican Dana Rohrbacher said Obama tried to take both sides on a lot of issues.

Story By: by Scott Horsley

President Obama gave his State of the Union address Tuesday night. The speech was one part blueprint for economic cooperation, and one part political warning shot — as Obama prepares for a tough re-election campaign.

Story By: by Ari Shapiro

Mitt Romney has spent a lot of his time in Florida talking about home foreclosures. The housing crisis is one of the few problems that Romney can use to attack both his Republican rival Newt Gingrich and President Obama.

Story By: by Brian Naylor

The Republican presidential candidates continue campaigning in Florida in advance of next Tuesdays GOP primary. Newt Gingrich, who is leading the polls, made a series of stops along the state’s Gulf Coast. He attacked President Obama for high gas prices.