Romney defends omission

Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Thursday defended his decision not to discuss the Afghanistan war in his convention speech. He said he didn’t plan to watch President Barack Obama’s convention address but offered some advice, saying Obama should discuss promises he already has made instead of offering new ones.

As Obama prepared to deliver his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., the Republican nominee stopped to visit veterans as he drove from an adviser’s home in Vermont to his own estate on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. Asked by a reporter why he decided not to discuss the Afghanistan war on his party’s biggest stage last week, Romney pointed to an address he gave to the American Legion the night before as evidence of his commitment to the armed forces.

“The president was also invited to the American Legion, and he was too busy to go. It was during my convention,” Romney said, military veterans standing around him. “I went to the American Legion, described my views with regards to our military, my commitment to our military, my commitment to our men and women in uniform.”

Romney was the first Republican nominee since 1952 to not mention war during his convention speech. He flew to Indianapolis the day before his address to the GOP convention in Tampa, Fla., to speak to the veterans’ organization.