WTF Politics: Knee Jerks

Mitt thinks he nailed the landing

Woke up this morning to news that protests against our American consulates in the Middle East had taken a turn towards worst case scenario. Four Americans, including our Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, were killed by an attack on our embassy in Benghazi. Before going to bed on Tuesday night, I was trying to piece together - through various sources - a somewhat disjointed story about the protests outside our embassy in Cairo. It seemed all the facts were simply not known - not surprising when you consider the situation was still fluid and tense. I had the good sense to go to bed and wait for further information. Sadly, no one gave this advice to Mitt Romney who issued the following attack on Tuesday night:

I'm outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. It's disgraceful that the Obama Administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.

Then Reince Priebus, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, double downed on the Romney campaign's statement and took to twitter at midnight ET with the following pleasantries:

Never satisfied to stay on the sidelines of any political or policy issue no matter how wholly unqualified she may be to speak on them, Sarah Palin weighed in with the following via her Facebook page:

All three knee jerk reactions came as a result of tweets sent out by diplomats at our embassy under impending siege in Cairo that dare suggested religious tolerance is good. Tweets that an Obama Administration official - perhaps anticipating the oncoming hyperbole and criticism from the right - pointed out were not approved by the White House. Apparently the details (both known and unknown), were all lost on Larry, Curly and Moe Mitt, Reince and Sarah who seemed to be alternately criticizing the President for "sympathizing" with the Egyptian protesters by agreeing with our American consulate workers who were trying to defuse an escalating situation AND for "not supporting" our American consulate workers who were trying to defuse an escalating situation. Confused yet? They are too.

So, after we all woke up this morning to the dreadful details of the lives lost in Libya, like most reasonable people, I assumed Mitt would dial back the unfounded criticism a bit today. Nope. He decided to ratchet up the rhetoric instead. Calling a press conference to slam his political opponent before his President could even make a scheduled statement on the unfolding, volatile and complex diplomatic situation from the Rose Garden.

Sigh. Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha... please take the wheel.