Each began by talking about the commitment and sacrifice of the Americans who serve their country overseas; then they condemned the violence of the attack; then they promised justice; then they affirmed America's belief in free expression of all views but said that this could never be an excuse for violence. They spoke for the country, and its values, and the people it had lost.

Mitt Romney could have waited, as they did. When he spoke, he could have said essentially the same thing as they did. We honor the people who serve us. We condemn the violence they endured. We express sorrow and support to their families, and we affirm belief in our values. Americans disagree on many issues, including foreign policy, but those disputes can wait until another day.

But that is not what he said. When he first heard about the violence and protests last night, he rushed to condemn the administration before anyone knew fully what was going on. After he had had a few hours to think, he dug himself in far deeper with a graceless press conference whose dominant theme was partisan criticism of the administration.

In short, when faced with a 3 a.m. test, he reacted immediately, rather than having the instinct to wait. And after he waited, he mistook this as a moment for partisanship rather than for at least the appearance of statesmanlike national unity. The irony, of course, is that resisting the partisan impulse today would have been the greatest possible boost to his horse-race prospects two months from now.

Think of this temperament and these instincts in a command role, and with stakes much higher than they were today.

As I say, for me this is one more reason to prefer the Democratic to the Republican candidate this year. But I think I would have felt as strongly about Barack Obama, Joe Biden, or Hillary Clinton if they had used their speeches today mainly to attack the GOP for policies that had allegedly brought on this tragedy. And would have said so.

You never know when these moments will come, or what they will expose when they do. Mitt Romney has shown us something that will be hard to forget.

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* I will be off the grid for the next eight hours so cannot follow changing developments, but will check again this evening. I see that Molly Ball has weighed in to similar effect.

