And he’s not worth much.
Romney went to England and insulted the Queen.
He went to the Holy Land and insulted everybody there.
He went to Poland and insulted the Poles.
Then…
Over the last several hours, a YouTube video with clips from an anti-Muslim film reached the general awareness of islamisists in Libya and Egypt, who carried out some very intense protests that in Libya escalated to the murder of four US Embassy officials including the Ambassador to that country. In case you didn’t know, this is what is called an International Incident, and it is right up there with some of the most intense such incidents. Hopefully this will be handled and the violence will not continue and we’ll get past this, but this is also the sort of thing that could end up in another 444 Days in Iran or a modified and very unpretty Arab Fall to follow the recent rather rough Arab Spring times (which Romney referred to as a three year long process in a recent mispeak… that was all this year, Mitt).
When an International Incident, especially one in which Americans are killed overseas doing their duty, and especially when one of those murdered is a highly placed official (you can’t get more highly placed in an overseas post than “Ambassador,” of course) others who are involved in the national conversation, such as those running for election in an election season, begin with the following response: They STFU. First, you shut up, then you watch, listen, and learn, then you make a statement that unequivocally backs the US and the President and all that. This is an International Incident, not a scuff up over domestic policy or taxation or some other such thing. When a candidate for President fails to STFU (followed by words of unity and support) and instead does what Mitt Romney did, things can get worse instead of better.
You all probably know what Romney did; he turned the incident into an opportunity for a partisan attack on Obama. This is nearly, if not perfectly, unprecedented. No one has ever done this before. No one has ever done any of these things Mitt Romney has done before, during his overseas visits or in blathering about policy in reaction to this International Incident that he willfully misunderstands and uses for his own political gain.
I know this may be hard to believe, but I wonder…is it possible that when it comes to foreign policy and foreign relations, Mitt Romney is worse than George Bush Jr.? At least, people liked to have a beer with George, which I know, does not help a lot in interaction with Muslim governments or leaders, but still…
Romney is not a joke. He’s a foreign policy disaster.
Have a look at this essay for a similar perspective.
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