Failed Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is ripping President Barack Obama in the wake of protests that resulted in the deaths of U.S. ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three other Americans, saying that if the president “doesn’t have a ‘big stick’ to carry, maybe it’s time for him to grow one.”

In the hours before the protest in Benghazi that left Stevens dead, the U.S. State Department had released a statement over a film that mocked the Prophet Muhammad. That film, “Innocence of Muslims,” had been recently given Arabic subtitles and promoted by Terry Jones, a U.S. pastor who had previously sparked deadly riots threatening to burn Qurans.

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“Apparently President Obama can’t see Egypt and Libya from his house,” Palin wrote on Facebook. “The Islamic radicals claim that these attacks are in protest to some film criticizing Islam. In response to this, the U.S. embassy in Cairo issued a statement that was so outrageous many of us thought it must be a satire. The embassy actually apologized to the violent mob attacking us, and it even went so far as to chastise those who use free speech to ‘hurt the religious feelings of Muslims.’ (Funny, the current administration has no problem hurting the “religious feelings” of Catholics.)”

She continued: “I realize there must be a lot on [Obama’s] mind these days – what with our economy’s abysmal jobless numbers and Moody’s new warning about yet another downgrade to our nation’s credit rating due to the current administration’s failure to come up with a credible deficit reduction plan. And, of course, he has a busy schedule – with all those rounds of golf, softball interviews with the ‘Pimp with the Limp,’ and fundraising dinners with his corporate cronies.”

“America can’t afford any more ‘leading from behind’ in such a dangerous world. We already know that President Obama likes to ‘speak softly’ to our enemies. If he doesn’t have a ‘big stick’ to carry, maybe it’s time for him to grow one.”

After the administration confirmed the deaths in Libya on Wednesday, Obama released a statement calling the attacks “outrageous.”

“While the United States rejects efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others, we must all unequivocally oppose the kind of senseless violence that took the lives of these public servants,” the president said.

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As for that “big stick,” Vice President Joe Biden confirmed earlier this year that the president does, in fact, have one.

“This guy has a got a backbone like a ramrod,” the vice president said about decision to take out terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. “For real. For real. On this gut issue, we know what President Obama did. We can’t say for certain what Governor Romney would have done.”

“Now is the time to heed the timeless advice from Teddy Roosevelt: ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick.’”

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“I promise you, the president has a big stick,” Biden added as the audience snickered. “I promise you.”