Day: September 12, 2012
“Not ready for prime time”
That was the response of an unnamed former aide to Senator McCain to Governor Romney’s botched reaction to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. Romney would have done better to crib from the tweet of the new prime minister of Libya, @MustafaAG:
I condemn these barbaric acts in the strongest possible terms. This is an attack on America, Libya and free people everywhere.
The question is not whether Romney is now ready to be commander-in-chief, but whether he is capable of getting ready. I don’t see much evidence of that. His insensitivities are legion: the denigration of Great Britain’s preparations for the Olympics, his attributing lack of success to Palestinian culture, his telling poor students they should borrow money from their parents to start a business, his mention of a possible need to sell stock to meet financial obligations when he was a student, his failure to mention U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan during his convention speech, his touting of the successful Salt Lake City Olympics without ever mentioning the Federal funding that helped him save the day. Those are just the items I remember off the top of my head. This is a guy who simply does not have the experience needed to empathize with others and understand how others will view him.
This should not be surprising. Romney has lived in a wealthy and protected bubble all his life. He really could borrow lots of money from his father, unlike many Americans. He has never lacked resources. Even as a young missionary in Paris, he lived well and was regarded as a candidate for president. He has not much needed the good opinion of others. He cultivates it by switching his positions to suit the audience, tying himself in knots over whether he does or does not support Obamacare, for example.
I wouldn’t be the first to suggest that Romney has already flubbed the 3 am phone call test. But it is much worse than that. He fails the breakfast, lunch and dinner tests as well. The pundits like to suggest that President Obama is more “likable,” as if that is a small thing. It is not. If Americans can’t picture themselves enjoying a beer with Romney and don’t believe he understands their problems, how can they elect him?
The Romney campaign seems to have wound itself up to challenge Obama on everything. They are pretty close to challenging him effectively on nothing. I had a debate last night on whether he was the Michael Dukakis or the John Kerry of the Republican party. That is not winning company to find yourself in.
Of course the election isn’t tomorrow, and things could change. So I’ll reserve final judgment and stick for now with “not ready for prime time,” yet.
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Death in Benghazi
The murder of four U.S. officials in Benghazi yesterday will anger Americans, adding to the cycle of resentment that began with posting on the internet in the United States of a film offensive to Muslims. The United States and NATO saved Benghazi from Muammar Qaddafi’s homicidal intentions. Riot and murder, Americans will think, is no way to show gratitude.
I’ve been in Benghazi twice in the past year, once in September 2011 and again in July 2012. I did not spend my time with the upper echelons. I never met Ambassador Chris Stevens. I walked and talked with people in the street, in polling places, at the drug store, in the market places, in restaurants, at airline ticket counters, at political party offices–anywhere I could find indigenous voices. The Libyans were warm and welcoming, especially after learning that I was an American. During my first trip, I had to duck a few hugs on the street. I’m not the huggy type.
My impression is that most Libyans would agree that America saved them from Qaddafi’s worst instincts. It is not most Libyans who attacked the consulate in Benghazi (or the embassy in Egypt) yesterday. It is a self-selected few. It is also a self-selected few people in America who make anti-Muslim films.
The difference is clear: the right to make offensive films is protected in the United States; there is no right to use violence either in the United States or in Libya. The U.S. government cannot block the making of films, but both the U.S. and Libyan governments are obligated to block and prosecute violent acts.
By all reports, Chris Stevens is a big loss to Libya as well as to the United States. He was a mainstay of international support to the Libyan revolution. I know nothing about his three colleagues killed, but my 21 years of experience in the U.S. Foreign Service tell me the odds are high that they too were credits to their homeland and assets to Libya as well. I did meet our young Consul in Benghazi in July. I am praying for his safety (the names of two of those killed have not been released yet).
These deaths are likely to have an out-sized impact on American relations with Libya as well as the security posture of American diplomatic posts worldwide. This is unfortunate. Our understandable reaction will be to pull our people back into the fortresses we call embassies and consulates, and strengthen their perimeter defenses. That degrades our interactions with the countries in which we are stationed. Nor is there real safety in that direction, as rockets, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades can breach even high and thick walls.
The right approach is to lean more heavily on host governments to provide security. Accounts of the demonstrations in Benghazi and Cairo yesterday suggest less diligence than the Libyan and Egyptian governments are obligated to provide. We would also do ourselves a favor by reducing our excessive numbers of officials stationed abroad and by working more anonymously, but those are subjects for another day.
Today we should mourn those who died, condemn those who killed them, and insist that those who have benefited from American support exert control over the extremists who discredit their revolutions.
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