BIN LADEN DEAD; GM ALIVE

Last week, Vice-President Joe Biden gave a sneak peek into how the Obama-Biden campaign intends to approach the 2012 election — it will focus on foreign policy and (albeit small) economic successes.

“If you are looking for a bumper sticker to sum up how President Obama has handled what we inherited, it’s pretty simple: Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive,” Biden said in a theme likely to be heard often as they formally kicked off the campaign against presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

The vice-president also tipped his hand on how they intend to tie Romney to the unpopular legacy of President George W. Bush, by promoting President Obama’s successful efforts to end the war in Iraq, wind down the war in Afghanistan, combat terrorism, and improve relations with other nations.

“Governor Romney’s national security policy would return us to the past we have worked so hard to move beyond,” Biden said.

Here are excerpts from Biden’s speech:

Today, I want to talk about an American president’s single most important responsibility — keeping our fellow citizens safe and our nation secure at a time of extraordinary challenge and change. On this fundamental issue, the contrast between President Obama’s record and Governor Romney’s rhetoric could not be greater. …

Three and a half years ago, when President Obama and I took office, our nation had been engaged in two wars for the better part of a decade. Al Qaeda was resurgent and Osama bin Laden was at large. Our alliances were dangerously frayed. And our economy — the foundation of our nation’s security — was on the precipice of a new depression. …

President Obama ended the war in Iraq responsibly. He set a clear strategy and end date for the war in Afghanistan. He cut in half the number of Americans serving in harm’s way. He decimated Al Qaeda’s senior leadership. He repaired our alliances and restored America’s standing in the world. And he saved our economy from collapse with bold decisions, including the rescue of the automobile industry — and that has made us stronger abroad. …

If you are looking for a bumper sticker to sum up how President Obama has handled what we inherited, it’s pretty simple: Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive.

Governor Romney’s national security policy would return us to the past we have worked so hard to move beyond. In this regard, it is no different than what Governor Romney has proposed for our economy — taking us back to the failed policies that got us into the mess President Obama has dug us out of.

Governor Romney is counting on our collective amnesia. But Americans know that we cannot afford to go back to the future. Back to a foreign policy that would have America go it alone … shout to the world you’re either with us or against us … lash out first and ask the hard questions later, if at all… isolate America instead of our enemies … waste hundreds of billions of dollars and risk thousands of American lives on an unnecessary war … and see the world through a Cold War prism that is totally out of touch with our times.