Romney lacks the character, courage, clarity and competence to command

By Brent Budowsky - 09/13/12 09:52 AM ET

Mitt Romney's ham-handed, small-minded, partisan, ignorant and offensive comments about the killing of American diplomats in Libya are only the latest example of a candidate who lacks the character to command, the clarity to command, the courage to command and the competence to command our men and women who risk their lives for America every day on the front lines of danger. Romney's performance, and it was a performance and a very bad performance at that, was a disgrace unworthy of his party and our country.

As I wrote twice this week, first in my piece suggesting that Romney has an Osama bin Laden problem, since he said he would oppose the attack in Pakistan that President Obama ordered that killed bin Laden, and second when I wrote yesterday morning that Romney should stop talking about and trying to exploit the killing of American diplomats in Libya, Mitt Romney lacks the qualities that are essential to command.

Romney lacks the clarity to command; he talks about subjects he knows nothing about. Romney lacks the courage to command; he could not even make up his mind about whether he would have ordered to attack that killed bin Laden. Romney lacks the competence to command; his analysis is sloppy, his facts are wrong, his worldview is shallow, his knowledge of military matters is zero. But most of all:

Mitt Romney lacks the character to command. He views every matter as an opportunity for cheap talk, cheap shots and cheap insults based on what he believes are his short-term political interests without regard to the life-and-death impact that the words of a leader, and the actions of a great nation, can have.

Mitt Romney's behavior after the killings in Libya was truly disgraceful. It was the behavior of a low-grade partisan, unworthy of anyone who aspires to be commander in chief of the nation we love and the men and women who serve.