COLUMBIA, S.C. — Republican presidential hopefuls eventually will have to start running against one another. But, for now, many are content to run against President Barack Obama, Iran and Middle East terrorists.
At the South Carolina Republican convention on Saturday, Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, called the president’s international stewardship “an unmitigated disaster.”
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum called Obama “weak.”
Rick Perry, Texas’ former governor, blasted “vacillation” by the administration.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called the president “feckless” on the world stage.
Graham and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas echoed each other as they accused Obama of “leading from behind.”
All five pledged loyalty to Israel and expressed varying levels of disdain for Iran.
The rhetoric plays well at GOP venues where Obama is a reviled figure: The audience whooped, hollered and shouted “Amen” in response to the candidates.
The question — eight months before voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina start the nomination process — is whether any candidate can use promises of an aggressive foreign policy to distinguish themselves.
Several couched their pitches in religion, particularly in their condemnation of the Islamic State terrorist group.
“The great issue of our time is a battle between Western values of freedom and this totalitarian world view of Islamic fanatics,” Perry said.
