Here's another look at the self-satisfied smirk on Mitt Romney's face after he attacked President Obama for sympathizing with America's attackers explained to America why he wasn't ready to be president:



"They were just trying to score a cheap news cycle hit based on the embassy statement and now it’s just completely blown up," said a very senior Republican foreign policy hand, who called the statement an "utter disaster" and a "Lehman moment" — a parallel to the moment when John McCain, amid the 2008 financial crisis, failed to come across as a steady leader.

Romney is getting skewered across the political spectrum, from the media and from politicians. Even conservatives, who probably feel free to unload now that they know he's going to lose, are slamming him There's a lot more in Ben Smith's report about how Romney's gambit is backfiring even among his allies. It's really a remarkable event in this campaign—easily the most spectacular political blunder of the 2012 cycle so far.

Also, check out Josh Marshall's tick-tock detailing how this episode makes it clear that Mitt Romney doesn't have what it takes to be president.





@joshgreenman via web Full Condoleezza Rice statement is here. No mention of Obama: http://t.co/...

Oy:



This is so far from the truth. Their impulsive, shoot-from-the-hip attack makes John McCain's drama queen campaign suspension in 2008 look positively sober by comparison.

Yeah, impulsive:



You really want this train wreck of a leader to have his finger on the nuclear button?