GREENVILLE, S.C. — In their first formal debate, a group of GOP presidential contenders on Thursday hailed the death of Sept. 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden but said that long-awaited success has not tempered their view that President Barack Obama has been weak in his international leadership.
Obama deserves credit for “making a tough call and being decisive as it related to finding and killing Osama bin Laden,” said former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. But he added: “That moment is not the sum total of America’s foreign policy.”
Pawlenty contended that Obama as a candidate had opposed techniques that “led to bin Laden’s being identified and killed” — an apparent reference to harsh interrogation tactics — and he faulted the president for ceding the United Nations too much decision making authority in Libya.
“If you look at what President Obama has done right in foreign policy,” said former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, “it has been a continuation of Bush policies.”
The fact that foreign-policy questions dominated the kickoff debate, however, was evidence of how bin Laden’s killing has thrown the GOP presidential field off balance, if only temporarily. Domestic economic concerns had been expected to drive the presidential race.
Only five potential candidates showed up for the debate, which was co-sponsored by Fox News Channel and the South Carolina Republican Party. Among them, Pawlenty is the only one considered to have a strong shot at the nomination. In addition to Santorum, the others were Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and former Godfather’s Pizza chief executive Herman Cain, who also is a radio talk-show host.
Among the missing, though considered likely to run, were former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
There are a host of other possibly strong contenders in varying stages of deciding whether to make a bid: former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, and former Utah Gov. and Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman.
