Paul Ryan says Obama showed “weakness” over Libya attacks

Vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan suggested that President Obama showed "weakness" in his reaction to the violence in Libya that killed four Americans, including U.S ambassador Christopher Stevens. 

Think Progress reports that Ryan told voters at a town hall campaign event in De Pere, Wisconsin that Obama was to blame for the violence in Egypt and Libya. 

“It is very important that a president speak with a singular voice representing our principles and our values,” Ryan said.

“If you show weakness, if you show moral equivocation, then foreign policy adventerusim among our adversaries will increase.” He promised that a Romney administration would lead with “peace through strength”. 

"We do not want a world climate where our adversaires are so tempted to test us and our allies our worried about trusting us," he added. "And that is unfortunately the path we are on right now and I really worry about that."

The Washington Examiner reports that Ryan was echoing Mitt Romney's claim that Obama's adminstration sent "mixed messages" in how they responded to the attacks. "We don't want people around the world wondering what our values are," he said. 

Romney was also on the campaign trail Wednesday, unleashing criticism on the Obama administration's handling of the killings. 

"It’s disgraceful that the Obama Administration’s first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks," Romney said in a statement late Tuesday night.

Romney's criticism of Obama was not well received by either Democrats or Republicans. The Atlantic reports that Romney's reaction "is widely being regarded as hasty and ham-handed" and that he "appeared overly eager to turn the tragedy into a political wedge" without being respectful of the situation.