US ambassador's murder: Mitt Romney looks as if he's seized on a human tragedy for his own ends
From the Telegraph:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danhodges/100180665/us-ambassadors-murder-mitt-romney-looks-as-if-hes-seized-on-a-human-tragedy-for-his-own-ends/
Given that events in Libyan are still unfolding, and details remain sketchy, it seems almost tasteless to try to view them through the prism of the 2012 US presidential election. But that doesn’t seem to have bothered Mitt Romney, who as early as yesterday evening was out waving the bloodied shroud, and issuing a statement claiming he was "outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi”.
At this ludicrously early juncture it’s impossible to judge how Romney’s remarks will be received, and what if any short-term impact these attacks may have on the race for the White House. Damian Thompson has rightly identified that Barack Obama will have questions to answer regarding diplomatic security, though he equally correctly criticises the Republican challenger for “jumping in with indecent haste”. Con Coughlin describes it as a “wake up call” for the President, which it undoubtedly is.
But one thing I’m certain of: if Mitt Romney tries to pick this up as an issue and run with it, he’ll regret it.
For now I suspect he may get away with his transparently self-serving reaction, and the emphasis will be very much on Barack Obama to explain how this appalling murder was allowed to happen, and how he plans to respond. But the impression of Mitt Romney seizing onto a human tragedy for his own ends will linger, and finally begin to seep into the consciousness of the electorate. One of Romney’s key negatives is the perception of him as aloof and calculating, and with one hasty press release he has reaffirmed that. And if people do begin to forget, come next month’s debates Barack Obama will be sure to remind them.
Mitt Romney also has a broader strategic problem. Barack Obama and the Democrats now own national security. The death of Bin Laden, withdrawal from Iraq and draw-down from Afghanistan represent trump cards. Two polls released yesterday showed Obama with an 11 point lead over Romney on terrorism related issues, and a 12 point lead on broader international affairs.
Nor will Romney have been helped by Vladimir Putin’s statement today that Romney’s foreign policy pronouncements justify Russia’s hawkish stance on missile defence. If the GOP hopeful wants to spend the next couple of weeks focusing on Libya he will, to coin a phrase, be making the President’s day.
And there is a third problem. Horrified though American’s will be by events in Libya, they happened in Libya. Yesterday marked the eleventh anniversary of the death of over 3,000 of their countrymen in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. These attacks will shock America, but they won’t shake her. And they certainly won’t define how people vote in November.
Mitt Romney will have to look elsewhere for his “gamechanger”. And if he is fortunate enough to find it, I sincerely hope he reacts with more dignity and self-restraint than he showed last night
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