Romney Was Wrong And Hysterical

The world watched portions of the Middle East explode last week as protesters erupted over a terrible anti-Muslim video that was getting a lot of hits on YouTube.

In watching the horrible tragedy unfold in Libya, one thing became very clear to me: Mitt Romney is a loose cannon. He speaks before he has facts.

“No matter where you stand politically, it should be clear that there are times when standing united as a country is more important than sticking a knife into your opponent’s side.”

Four people, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, were killed when the embassy in Benghazi was attacked, overrun and burned. While President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were condemning the violence in Cairo and in Libya, and dealing with the situation as it unfolded, Romney was accusing the president of “apologizing” for America and sympathizing with the anti-American forces. He went on a full-fledged political attack during a time of crisis.

Not only were his hysterical accusations unfounded and inaccurate, he made a bad situation worse by shooting off before waiting for the facts to be known, before the victims’ families were notified and before understanding the full ramifications of an unstable and still-developing situation.

No matter where you stand politically, it should be clear that there are times when standing united as a country is more important than sticking a knife into your opponent’s side. Mr. Romney could have made the same points – more effectively – after the horror had played out. Timing is important, and judgment is important for a man who aspires to be the leader of the free world.

There is no black and white when it comes to the Middle East. It’s complicated. It’s volatile. What appears to be true in the beginning often proves false as facts are uncovered.

Even as I write this more details are emerging that point to a coordinated effort by a group such as al-Qaida rather than a protest run amok.

Governor Romney, who is a smart man, would be more effective both as a candidate and as a leader if he understood this and acted accordingly.


We are having turkey dinner tonight, and yes, it’s a bit early to be roasting up the big bird. But we came home from our college trip to the unpleasant realization that our fridge was without power and everything in the freezer was half thawed. So I did what you would do in that situation. I cooked.

With the partially defrosted three pounds of hamburger I made chili, hamburger patties and a weird ground beef with kimchee goulash. I baked some of the chicken and boiled the rest. No waste!

And the turkey – I’m roasting it as I write this. I love turkey and always wondered why we wait for “special occasions” to have it. As I gaze at the 15 pounds of yummy bird browning in the oven, I realize why – they’re just darned big. Too big for the average family to consume in one sitting. Heck, my husband and I are on our own now – no teenaged boy around to wolf down very large portions of food. I may need to call up friends or family to come up and share a midweek “not Thanksgiving,” “not Christmas” turkey dinner with us. Otherwise we’ll be eating leftovers or a month.

And speaking of “not Christmas” – some retailers have Christmas merchandise out already! Let’s see … Halloween is still 42 days away. Thanksgiving is 64 days away. And Christmas is 89 days away! We are going to be inundated with holiday displays, sales and merchandise for a full three months before the actual event.

I love Christmas, but that’s too much of a good thing – even for me.