Mitt Romney said Monday that President Obama hadn't been forthcoming enough with status updates on the conflict in Afghanistan, saying the president needed to "explain what's happening" to voters and veterans' families back home.
The attack was prompted by a question from a veteran at a town-hall meeting in New Hampshire, where Romney and running mate Paul Ryan spoke and fielded questions for more than an hour Monday morning.
The veteran said that his son was soon leaving to fight in Afghanistan, and wanted to know how a Romney administration would address the ongoing war. Neither the presumptive Republican nominee nor the president has addressed the conflict during recent campaign stops.
"Our guys are coming home in body bags," the man said. "You guys take over in Washington, what are you going to do about this damn mess in Afghanistan?"
Romney responded to the question by criticizing Obama for not regularly updating the country on the progress of the war.
"I expect the president of the United States to address the nation on a regular basis," Romney said.
Romney went on to pledge he would "address the American people about these issues."
Shifting to policy, Romney said he would "do everything within my power to transition from our military to their military as soon as possible."
Ryan also chimed in, accusing the president of making "decisions that are more political in nature" when making military decisions.
The Wisconsin lawmaker also criticized Democrats for proposing lower spending rates on defense, arguing that Congress should "give [the military] what they ask for."
The Obama campaign blasted back Monday afternoon, saying that Romney failed to adequately outline his path for Afghanistan.
"Mitt Romney’s response was that he’d address the American public more often if elected. That’s simply not enough from someone running to be Commander-in-Chief," said Obama spokeswoman Lis Smith in a statement. "The truth is that Romney has refused to put forth a plan for what he would do in Afghanistan. If he does have some secret plan, he owes it to our men and women in uniform to tell them. The President has repeatedly outlined a specific plan for how we are going to bring our troops home responsibly and end the war by the end of 2014, including during a trip he made to Afghanistan in May."
Aside from the question on foreign policy, Romney and Ryan mostly stuck to script at the town-hall meeting — Romney's 100th of the campaign. Romney criticized the president's budget proposals, and accused Obama's reelection team of deceitful campaign ads.
"It seems that the first victim of an Obama campaign is the truth. It has been sad and disappointing," Romney said. "All we've heard so far is one attack after another, and frankly they're not typically honest."
The only moment that looked potentially contentious was when Romney was asked a question by a man wearing a New York Yankees shirt — the rivals of his hometown Red Sox.
Romney told a story about meeting with cadets from the Citadel in Charleston, S.C. — the punchline being "we all hate Yankees" — before Ryan quickly interjected "but not you," looking to save the support of the questioner.
The man seemed to take the joke in good spirits, however.
"I back winners and that's why I'm backing you," the supporter said.
