White House slams Republican criticisms of Obama’s open-mic Russia gaffe

Click image to see more photos (Pablo Martínez Monsivais/AP)

The White House on Thursday accused Republicans criticizing President Barack Obama over his candid but caught-on-tape comments to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev—like presidential front-runner Mitt Romney and House Speaker John Boehner—of having an outdated "Cold War" mindset and said Obama would happily fight for his policy through the election.

"I'm pretty sure the Cold War ended when some of the folks in this room were still in elementary school, and any suggestion that Russia is America's No. 1 geopolitical foe represents a unique understanding of recent history," spokesman Jay Carney said wryly.

Asked whether Obama would welcome the chance to take on his critics, Carney told reporters: "At any time—and whether that happens within the context of the election, or in a foreign policy forum somewhere, or in answer to questions from you—I'm sure that he'll welcome that opportunity."

His comments came a day after Boehner wrote Obama a letter expressing concerns about the president's promise to Medvedev that the White House would have more flexibility to negotiate on missile defense after the November elections. Romney seized on Obama's comments to accuse the Democrat of having a secret agenda that would undermine national security, and labeled Russia in a CNN interview as "without question our No. 1 geopolitical foe."

The president himself was forced to address the issue on Tuesday as he attended an international summit in Seoul, South Korea, where he insisted that he only meant that partisan election-year politics complicate international arms control efforts.Carney, who echoed that comment on Thursday, defended Obama's policy of seeking a "reset" of relations with Russia by saying that approach had yielded "tangible benefits" for U.S. national security. He cited Moscow's support for new rounds of sanctions against Iran, and greater cooperation on getting supplies to NATO-led forces in Afghanistan.

"We obviously have our differences with Russia," the spokesman added, citing Moscow's opposition to the deployment of U.S. missile defense assets in Eastern Europe and veto of a resolution meant to halt Syria's deadly crackdown on opposition.

But "we have a relationship with Russia that allows us to discuss those differences candidly and openly," Carney said.

"Let's be clear, as the president has: We are building a missile defense system in Eastern Europe with our allies that is aimed at protecting the United States and our allies in Europe from rogue nations like Iran. It is not directed at Russia. That is the point that we have made to the Russians. They have not been persuaded, but we will work with them and continue to have discussions with them to demonstrate that," Carney said.

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