Mitt Romney's opportunistic, incoherent attack

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from Greg Sargent at WaPo: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/mitt-romneys-opportunistic-incoherent-attack/2012/09/12/cebfb3b8-fce8-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_blog.html


“The administration was wrong to stand by a statement sympathizing with those who had breached our Embassy in Egypt, instead of condemning their actions,” Romney said. “It’s never too early for the United States government to condemn acts on Americans and to defend our values.” -Mitt Romney at today's Libya presser


. . . this press conference looks to me like a serious mistake on Romney’s part. The whole thing reeked of political opportunism and didn’t convey any sense of leadership or reassurance amid a crisis. It was also somewhat incoherent. At one point, Romney defended his reaction by noting that the White House, too, had also condemned the U.S embassy’s statement, claiming: “I had the exact same reaction.” Okay, so Romney is criticizing the Obama administration while simultaneously agreeing with it?

Romney is arguing that the administration at first took an objectionable stance. But the statement in question was put out by the U.S. embassy in Cairo, at a moment when it was bracing for trouble. No one except for confirmed Obama haters will buy the notion that the Obama administration sympathized with the attacks. And yet here Romney is at a hastily convened press conference, at a time when four Americans were murdered, doubling down on that exact charge.

This kind of thing will thrill the base, but will it really resonate with undecided and persuadable voters? The new Washington Post poll finds Obama holds an overwhelming 51-38 advantage over Romney on who is more trusted to handle international affairs. Does the Romney camp really think that raising the “apology” canard yet again in this context is a good strategy? Tellingly, no other GOP leaders criticized the Obama administration today, leaving Romney isolated . . .

I would not go as far as some have gone in suggesting that this is a sign of desperation on Romney's part or that it is akin to John McCain’s disastrous suspension of his campaign in 2008. There is a long way to go, the economy is still dominant, and this race still could tip either way. But this does not look like the behavior of a campaign that thinks it’s winning.

[Dawson Leery]

1. This was an act of desperation.