Giuliani Camp Slams Romney Over 'Lawyers Test'
Giuliani camp slams Republican opponent Romney over words of war.
Oct. 10, 2007 — -- The campaign of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani Wednesday aggressively challenged comments made at a debate by opponent Mitt Romney, who had suggested lawyers would play a leading role in how to respond to an international crisis.
The Giuliani campaign has branded Romney's response "the lawyer's test" and is trying to use the response as a way to portray the former Massachusetts governor as unsure of himself and less than commanding on issues of terrorism, which Giuliani considers his strength.
Asked during Tuesday's CNBC debate in Dearborn, Mich., if he would obtain congressional authorization before taking any military action against Iran's nuclear facilities, Romney said, "You sit down with your attorneys and they tell you what you have to do, but obviously the president of the United States has to do what's in the best interest of the United States to protect us against a potential threat."
Romney added that President Bush "did that as he was planning on moving into Iraq and received the authorization of Congress."
Pressed on whether Bush had needed that congressional authorization, Romney said, "You know, we're going to let the lawyers sort out what he needed to do and what he didn't need to do. But, certainly, what you want to do is to have the agreement of all the people -- leadership of our government as well as our friends around the world where those circumstances are available."
The Giuliani campaign attacked this answer as weak.
"Going to war is the most serious decision a president can make," said Adm. Robert J. Natter, former commander in chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and an adviser to Giuliani. "Lawyers should not debate while our national security is on the line. In these momentous decisions, we need leadership, not litigation."
Aides to former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson also challenged the Romney response, telling the National Review's Byron York after the debate, "When it comes to our nation's security, it will be our generals that Fred Thompson sits down with first, not our attorneys."
