Already Disqualified

Traveling is an education, but Republican U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney presents a different picture on his visit to Jerusalem.

Travel is said to be broadening, so one might think Mitt Romney would want to learn something during his visit to Israel. Wrong! Nearly everything the aspirant to the White House has thus far done in Jerusalem leaves the impression that he has no clue as to how complicated the Middle East situation really is. Instead, Romney depicts everything in the crisis region in black and white: Israel is good and the rest — the Palestinians and the Mullahs in Iran — have to accept that as fact.

This one-sided world picture is due less to stupidity than it is to cold calculation. Romney is fundraising in Jerusalem — $50,000 is the minimum cost for two seats at his breakfast table. And he is garnering Jewish supporters at home in the U.S. The Republicans hope the tensions between President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will drive Jewish voters into the conservative camp. So Netanyahu is doing exactly what Romney expects of him. “Mitt, I couldn’t agree with you more,” Bibi purred as his guest enthusiastically proposed destroying Iran’s nuclear centrifuges militarily.

This trip to Israel may have helped Romney in the short term, but in the long term the Republican did himself considerable damage: The Middle East needs the United States as a mediator. This presidential wannabe has already disqualified himself for that post.