Obama Has ‘Election’ Slip Up In Meeting With Russian Leader

President leaves opening for conservative opponents to jump on his foreign policy agenda

Uh oh.

That’s likely the only reaction had by handlers of President Barack Obama, who asked Russian President Dmitri Medvedev for “space” in negotiating the European missile defense system until “after my election.”

The candid moment, caught on a live microphone, already has conservatives and Republican presidential candidates prepping fresh attack lines on the president’s foreign policy agenda.

“On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it’s important for him (outgoing prime minister Vladimir Putin) to give me space,” Obama is heard telling Medvedev, moments before the two are to give a joint press conference at a nuclear security summit in Seoul, South Korea.

“This is my last election,” Obama continues. “After my election I have more flexibility.” (View video of the exchange above.)

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The Washington Post picked up reaction from GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney, who said Americans “have a right to know where else he plans to be ‘flexible’ in a second term.”

Romney surrogate Donald Trump took to Twitter to inform his 1.1 million followers of the president’s exchange.

An Obama national security advisor told reporters Obama meant to communicate, “it is clearly not a year in which we are going to achieve a breakthrough.”

The clip of Obama’s exchange with the Russian president is certain to resurface in an attack ad from a GOP presidential campaign, and or the super PACs.

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