Romney Trashes "Politics Stops at the Water's Edge" Doctrine

According to an article in The Hill, Wall Street Journal columnist and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan on Wednesday said Romney struck the wrong note by calling Obama’s response to the deadly attack on American diplomats in Libya “disgraceful.”

“I don’t think in his statement on what happened in Libya last night and in his remarks today I don’t think he did himself any favor.  At a moment of crisis like this, I think it’s kind of a water’s edge moment,” she said during an interview on WSJ Live.

I remember--and I think Peggy Noonan does too--that not so long ago, when elected officials were patriotic, when they paid their fair share of taxes and when they didn't stash their millions in offshore tax havens, the unwritten but universally-acknowledged rule was:

Politics stops at the water's edge.

This policy was first enunciated by Republican Senator Arthur Vandenberg in 1947.

Vandenburg believed--rightly--that American politicians should always present a united front to other countries, despite political disagreements on their own turf. To air these disagreements weakened America’s show of strength.

Clearly, Mitt Romney--with his sleazy attack on the President--has thrown that doctrine into the garbage can.

I think at the same time Mitt Romney threw his chances of winning the election into the garbage can, too.

Jagor