September Surprise

Romney's first response to the Libya attack was to attack Obama. Was that wise?

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Having promised justice in Libya, Obama exits the Rose Garden with Hillary Clinton

Mitt Romney began the 2012 anniversary of Sept. 11 by calling for a suspension of politics. "There is a time and a place for that, but this day is not it," he said at a morning National Guard gathering in Reno, Nev.

Just hours later, Romney could no longer resist. Angered by YouTube clips of an offensive video that mocks the Prophet Muhammad, mobs had attacked diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt. U.S. diplomats in Cairo, hoping to stem local furies, had issued a statement hours earlier: "The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided...

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