Romney Needs a Russian Reset on Libyan Consulate

Let's compare Mitt Romney's and Russian President Vladimir Putin's responses to the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens and his colleagues.

Here's Mitt:

It's disgraceful that the Obama Administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.

And here's Our #1 Geopolitical Foe:

...there can only be one opinion: we condemn this crime and express our condolences to the families of the victims.

Killing a person is a terrible crime, but in this case, we are talking about the killing of diplomats – individuals who are protected by international conventions, whose lives and health are protected by international law. If somebody does not accept this, that means those people are not merely positioning themselves outside the law, but also outside modern civilisation. 

Putin goes on to say that states must "react swiftly and rigidly to provocations against religious feelings," in a line that is pretty obviously an allusion to the jailing of Pussy Riot.

Still, it says a lot to me about Romney's (lack of) readiness for the world stage that Putin sounded more statesmanlike and respectful in condemning free speech than Romney did in defending it.