Romney criticizes Obama's foreign policy

PUEBLO, Colo. -- Mitt Romney led a chorus of Republican criticism of the administration's foreign policy yesterday, accusing President Barack Obama of minimizing the recent killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya as a mere "bump in the road" rather than part of a chain of events that threatens American interests.

White House press secretary Jay Carney called the accusations "desperate and offensive," an attempt by Romney and his allies to gain political advantage in the latter stages of a campaign that seems to be trending Obama's way.

The president did not comment on the criticism when he and first lady Michelle Obama taped an appearance on ABC's "The View" that blended the personal with the political. Asked whether a Romney presidency would be a disaster, Obama said the nation can "survive a lot."

He added: "The American people don't want to just survive, we want to thrive."

The back and forth on foreign policy occurred as Romney said he was shifting to a more energetic schedule of public campaign events, bidding to reverse recent erosion in battleground state polls.

After days spent largely raising campaign cash -- and trying to minimize the fallout from one speech to donors last spring -- Romney pledged to make the case for "real and positive change."

While the polls make the race exceedingly close, Obama has gained ground in many recent surveys when potential voters are asked to compare the rivals in their ability to fix the economy.

Other Republicans joined Romney in challenging Obama on foreign policy Monday.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee issued challenges to Democratic candidates in several races to "share their view" on Obama's remarks on CBS' "60 Minutes" on the weekend.

Obama was asked whether recent events in the Mideast gave him pause for supporting governments that came to power following a wave of regime changes known as the Arab Spring.

He said he has long noted that events were going to be rocky, adding that the question itself "presumes that somehow we could have stopped this wave of change."

"I think it was absolutely the right thing for us to align ourselves with democracy, universal rights. . . . But I was pretty certain and continue to be pretty certain that there are going to be bumps in the road . . ."

Romney was eager to talk about it on ABC.

"I can't imagine saying something like the assassination of ambassadors is a bump in the road, when you look at the entire context, the assassination, the Muslim Brotherhood president being elected in Egypt, 20,000 people killed in Syria, Iran close to becoming a nuclear nation, that these are far from being bumps in the road," he said.