CNN Political Ticker

Did the president hit delete on his national security stump speech?

Athens, Ohio (CNN) - A standard line in the president's stump speech that touts his administration's efforts to target al Qaeda has been missing from recent stops, in the wake of the Libya terror attacks.

"I said we'd refocus on the people who actually attacked us on 9/11, and today al Qaeda is on the run and Osama bin Laden is dead," the president has said.

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But at stops in Mt. Vernon, Iowa and Athens, Ohio, the president on Wednesday made no mention of terrorists being "on the run."

"I said we'd focus on the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and we have, and bin Laden is dead," the president told a crowd of mostly students at a rally on the campus of Cornell College.

Republicans have questioned the president's foreign policy achievements, noting that his campaign rhetoric was further eroded by the Benghazi attacks that killed four Americans.

The missing line in the president's stump speech did not go unnoticed by the Romney campaign. Aides quickly highlighted the apparent shift.

The Obama administration and re-election campaign have accused Republicans and the Romney campaign of playing politics.

Was the line deleted intentionally? Or was it lost during ad lib moments?

The campaign has yet to weigh in despite repeated requests for comment.

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