Speaking at an event last month, Republican Rep. Mike Coffman said that he has a "fundamental concern" that President Barack Obama might conduct an October surprise of sorts that could help his bid for re-election.
Coffman made these comments before the Arapahoe County Republican Men's Club, channeling his own military experience more than 30 years ago, as he answered a question about the Obama administration's foreign policy agenda.
The two-term incumbent, who himself is running for re-election in the 6th Congressional District, began his response to the question before a GOP-friendly audience by saying, "Let me just say this, here's my fundamental concern about what this president might do," before revealing his military experience under President Jimmy Carter's administration.
A lieutenant in the U.S. Marines in 1980 under Carter, Coffman noted that he was sent to the Gulf of Oman ? as part of a Marine Expeditionary Unit ? where he was briefed on a contingency operation to seize the islands in the Strait of Hormuz from the Iranians. The Iranians had threatened to block the Strait to stop the flow of oil coming out of the Persian Gulf.
Yet nothing occurred, and Coffman spent "45-days there and then did nothing."
In his comments, Coffman alluded to a Washington Post column by the late Jack Anderson that said there was going to be an "October Surprise," by the Carter administration in the hopes it would help him gain re-election.
Ultimately Carter ended up losing that November.
"So, would Barack Obama do something that Jimmy Carter maybe would have done? It would be superficial, that would not be substantive but would be a rally around the flag for the American people to boast his presidency. I don't know. I don't know about that. But that was interesting in terms of my own experience," is how Coffman ended his comments to the question at the Aug. 15 event.
The audio was captured by a Colorado Democratic party tracker.
A spokesman for Coffman added that it had nothing to do with Obama specifically, as it is a concern Coffman has with all presidents.
Democratic State Rep. Joe Miklosi and a pair of third-party candidates are challenging Coffman in the Aurora-based 6th Congressional District.
Kurtis Lee: 303-954-1655, klee@denverpost.com or twitter.com/kurtisalee
Source: http://feeds.denverpost.com/~r/dp-politics/~3/YA0XIg3mQU4/october-surprise-worries-coffman
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