Say no to Romney

Mitt Romney seems nostalgic for the gunboat diplomacy of the early 20th century. He holds the president accountable for the election of Mohammed Morsi as the president of Egypt. I can’t help recalling Tom Lehrer’s satirical song “Send the Marines,” which speaks of sending in the Marines “Till somebody we like can be elected.”

It seems no stick is too dirty to be used to beat on the president. An embassy staffer’s statement on freedom of speech becomes, in Mitt Romney’s hands, an administration apology for the American freedom of speech that allowed that foul trailer. Mitt ignores the fact that real life is not bound by TV broadcast limits. The entire Libyan affair is to be resolved to audience satisfaction within the one-hour show.

Let’s ignore any reality checks like dealing with a sovereign state, getting truthful information about what actually happened, and trivialities like that.

Mitt wants to know! It’s something else he can use to pummel the president. In the absence of facts, he’ll use that very absence of facts.

Such dirty sticks leave traces on the hands of those who use them. I encourage voters to notice Romney’s hand and decline to shake it.

Timothy Rolfe

Spokane