Before he knew who had been killed, or even what was really going on, Mitt Romney slammed President Obama over attacks on U.S. diplomatic compounds in Libya and Egypt. The Republican presidential nominee saw an opportunity to score political points on foreign policy — one of his own weaknesses — and jumped on it.

That was cheap opportunism. But the fact that Romney doubled-down yesterday, after learning of the deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three of his American staffers, is truly inexcusable.

There’s an unspoken rule that politics should pause when American blood is spilled overseas. And Romney also had pledged not to criticize the president on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. A promise, apparently, that he chose to break.

Romney continues to insist that a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo was “akin to an apology” and a “severe miscalculation.” He implied, wrongly, that it was a reaction to the attack, even though it was issued before the protests broke out. And he faulted Obama for it.

The statement from the embassy, made before the killings, was no apology. It was an olive branch to the people of Egypt who were offended by an amateur film made in the United States that insults the Prophet Muhammad. The statement said the U.S. government “condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims — as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions.”

The intention was to make clear to demonstrators that the U.S. government didn’t endorse this video, a perfectly legitimate point to convey as resentments in Egypt began to roil. It was not a reaction to the attack on the embassy, which happened hours later and was firmly condemned.

Later, after news broke Tuesday night that a State Department official had been killed in Libya, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Romney each put out a statement. Clinton condemned the attacks, saying, “There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind.”

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Here’s what Romney said: “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.”

That is a shameful distortion, an unforgivable attempt to score political points that is made worse by the timing so soon after these diplomats gave their lives. It serves as a reminder of what a novice Romney is when it comes to international affairs and how eager he is to put his most belligerent foot forward.

After news of the deaths was confirmed, Obama unequivocally condemned the attacks. So did the Libyan government.

The Obama administration reportedly suspects the violence may have been planned by terrorists. While noting that Libya’s security forces fought back against the mob, helped protect American diplomats and took Stevens’ body to the hospital, Obama said, “Make no mistake: We will work with the Libyan government to bring to justice the killers who attacked our people.”

Nevertheless, under the guise of outrage at Obama’s response, House conservatives yesterday called for stripping foreign aid to Libya and Egypt. They were echoing Romney and other knee-jerk Republicans, including Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, who wrote this on Twitter: “Obama sympathizes with attackers in Egypt. Sad and Pathetic.”

Those words describe well Romney’s undignified and unfounded political attack on a day of national mourning.

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