President Obama's campaign on Sunday unveiled a new Web video targeting GOP nominee Mitt Romney on foreign affairs, one day ahead of the third presidential debate, which will focus on international issues.
The new ad features Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and other foreign policy notables hammering Romney for his lack of "prime-time" foreign policy experience.
"In Gov. Romney, what worries me is just a series of statements that show that he's not ready for prime time in terms of national security," Albright says in the beginning of the four-minute web video.
The Romney campaign responded to the video, saying that “America can’t afford four more years of President Obama leading from behind.”
“Iran is closer to nuclear weapons capability, our relations with Israel have deteriorated, and our military is facing devastating budget cuts. Mitt Romney will ensure that our military remains strong, we have strong relations with our allies, and he will ensure that our enemies will not question our resolve to defeat them,” said Romney spokesperson Ryan Williams, in a statement.
The Romney campaign has been focusing on the president's response to the Consulate attack in Benghazi, Libya on Sept. 11, to paint the administration as week in the Middle East and unprepared for the turmoil of the post-Arab Spring world.
The Obama campaign ad, though, hits Romney, calling his initial criticisms of the administration "shocking."
"If you look at Libya, Romney shot from the hip before he had any of the facts," Kerry said.
"It was the most stark example of trying to be politically opportunistic and use a national tragedy to your advantage," said Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michèle Flournoy.
The ad also features footage from the debate of Obama strongly rejecting suggestions that his administration failed to address threats to American interests in the region properly.
During last week's debate, the two presidential candidates sparred heatedly over Libya with Romney accusing Obama of waiting two weeks to peg the attack as a terrorist assault.
Obama, though, said he had called the incident an "act of terror" in remarks the next day at the Rose Garden. Republicans said Obama's comments were in reference to 9/11 and the Benghazi violence.
Republicans have seized on the administration response to Libya, after senior Obama officials initially linked the attack to protests in the Muslim world over an anti-Islam film posted to YouTube.
Officials later said intelligence showed that the attack had been pre-planned. Democrats have accused Republicans of politicizing the deaths of Americans overseas, while GOP lawmakers and the Romney camp say that the president needs to be more forthcoming about the security provided before the attack and on the confusing narratives afterwards.
The debate over Libya is likely to be a centerpiece of the third presidential debate on Monday, which will see the two candidates face off over foreign policy.
This story was updated at 11:48 a.m.
