Mitt Romney's statement, translated: I'm not ready to be president

In case you haven't seen it, here's Mitt Romney's statement last night trying to exploit the attacks against American diplomats in Libya and Egypt for political gain:

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.

It was immediately obvious that this statement was as crass as it was desperate'Romney, who couldn't bring himself to thank American troops serving in Afghanistan during his acceptance speech, and whose campaign dismissed foreign policy as a "shiny object" just yesterday, suddenly deciding to elevate foreign policy? Clearly, any time something bad happens to America, Romney sees it as an opportunity to score points. I'm not saying he was happy last night, but he sure was fast to attempt to capitalize, wasn't he?

This kind of political opportunism isn't surprising coming from Mitt Romney. It's just another example of his utter lack of conviction'other than the conviction that he is entitled to do or say whatever it takes to win. But what this statement does illustrate is that Mitt Romney doesn't have what it takes to be president. Political attacks are one thing. But Romney launched this particular political attack without knowing all the facts.

As it turns out, four Americans were killed, including our Ambassador to Libya. Romney issued his statement before those basic facts were in. Given the nature of Romney's statement'a political attack based on a false characterization of what President Obama had done'that sort of shooting from the hip reveals a lack of impulse control that we simply cannot afford to have in a president.

So yes, I'm angry that Mitt Romney is trying to exploit this. But the recklessness with which he tried to exploit this is even more troubling. If you have your finger on the nuclear button, you need to be cool, calm, and collected. And Mitt Romney's response shows that he's not.

6:42 AM PT: President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton will give a statement from the White House at 10:35 AM ET. If Mitt Romney wants to see how a real president conducts himself (or herself, for that matter), he should tune in.