Katie Couric posted a photo of Mitt Romney, Timothy Cardinal Dolan and President Obama at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner online. (Instagram.com/Katie Couric)
President Obama deflected criticism over his administration’s response to the US Consulate attack in Libya in a Thursday appearance on “The Daily Show.”
“Every piece of information, as we got it we laid it out for the American people,” Obama told host Jon Stewart.
“If four Americans get killed, it’s not optimal. We’re going to fix it. All of it.”
Obama’s interview came two days after Tuesday’s presidential debate, where challenger Mitt Romney charged that the president took two weeks to label the attack an act of terror – a statement that moderator Candy Crowley refuted.
Obama did, in fact, say “No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for” in a press conference the day after the Sept. 11 attack.
But confusion grew as government officials offered differing motives in the weeks following the violence. Some officials attributed the attack to an anti-Muslim film.
Obama spent the rest of his “Daily Show” appearance laughing at Stewart’s jokes and outlining his goals for a second term.
As the President sat on-stage, Stewart showed him two photos of Obama with wife Michelle. One photo showed the couple sullen on the night of the first debate, where the president was criticized for his lukewarm performance. The second photo showed the couple smiling, Michelle in pink at Tuesday’s debate.
“Obviously I had an off-night,” Obama said of the first debate. “The presentation wasn’t the way it needed to be.”
Stewart likened Obama’s first debate performance to a speech following an open-faced turkey sandwich and a shot of Nyquil.
“That’s a good combination,” Obama said.
Stewart also asked Obama if vice president Joe Biden shows up to meetings in a wet bathing suit.
“I had to put out a presidential directive on that,” Obama said. “He had to stop doing that.”
Following Obama’s “Daily Show” taping, he and Romney spent the evening at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, a function for Catholic charities. The candidates poked fun at themselves and each other.
“It’s nice to finally relax and wear what Ann and I wear around the house,” Romney joked.
Obama, meanwhile, shared a preview of Monday’s debate, which will focus on foreign policy.
“Spoiler alert: We got bin Laden,” he said.
TV news host Katie Couric posted a photo online showing Romney and Obama sitting beside New York’s Timothy Cardinal Dolan at the function.
“Who are these guys checking me out at the Al Smith dinner? Yeeesh!” she wrote.
With AP