Romney: Obama 'timid and weak' on Iranian threat to Israel

Mitt Romney positioned himself as President Obama's polar opposite on foreign policy Wednesday, laying out a tough bottom line on U.S. support for Israel.

The former Massachusetts governor accused the president of appeasing U.S. enemies and presiding over a weakening of American military power and standing in the world.

"He's been timid and weak on the existential threat that Israel faces from Iran. These actions have emboldened Palestinian hardliners," Romney told the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Romney received the warmest reception of the three presidential candidate to address the coalition Wednesday morning. He described a more aggressive and hardline approach to foreign policy than either Rick Santorum or Jon Huntsman.

He vowed once again to make his first foreign trip as president to Israel, to refuse to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and "to reaffirm as a vital national interest Israel's existence as a Jewish state."

While the other candidates expressed vociferous support for Israel, Romney went further than his opponents by tying U.S. support for Israel to its Jewish character.

Romney painted the 2012 election as a stark choice for American society between a dangerous path toward international appeasement and weakness, propagated by Obama, and a return to prosperity and strength.

"He is seeking to replace our merit-based society with an entitlement society," the former Massachusetts governor said, claiming that Obama's apporach reflects his lack of understanding of the competitive world and replaces opportunity with certainty. "But there's another certainty: They'll all be poor."

Romney navigated delicately through two issues that have continued to pose challenges to his candidacy: His Mormon faith, which polls show make many voters uncomfortable; and the contention by Romney's opponents from both parties that he assumes whatever positions are most politically advantageous.

"My family, my faith, freedom. These are enduring truths in my life," Romney said. "My commitments are firm. They don't falter."

Like Huntsman and Santorum, Romney made the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program the central component of his argument for why the United States must actively support Israel's security and well-being.

"We keep talk about crippling sanctions," he said. "We just don't do it."

Spotting an opportunity to carry the conservative mantle on an issue high on the minds of many in the GOP base, Romney has frequently touted a pro-Israel philosophy and gone on the attack against Obama for not doing enough to bolser the U.S. ally. 

He accused Obama of "throwing Israel under the bus" in May when Obama suggested Israeli-Palestinian negotiations use the pre-1967 borders as a starting point.

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