Politically, Mitt Romney is best served by a disillusioned and disgusted electorate. The worse America feels the better it is for him. That should be self evident and while he says his campaign is about the economy, it's really about trying to pin all real and imagined misery on President Obama.
So when the events in the Middle East unfolded, Mitt Romney had a perfect and wonderful political opportunity. Muslims were rioting and Americans were dead or being threatened. And just in case people forgot how bad all this made them feel, it was occurring on the anniversary of 9/11. That's why he didn't wait to 9/12 to release his statement as originally planned. Maybe Americans would feel worse if he spoke out on the anniversary of 9/11. This opportunity to poison the well is why Romney was all over this event and why he hasn't let up. Yes it is a political risk, but it also a great opportunity to make people feel horrible. It is, again, what his campaign is all about.
However, in order to accomplish this, Romney sold the United States down the river in a big way.
To try and gain political favor, Romney
1) strongly implied the Commander in Chief was disgraceful and did so while a potential attack ( and potential terrorist attack) was underway or at least being threatened;
2) Lied to the American public concerning the underlying facts over an attack on American citizens;
3) Was willing to be divisive when it was essential that our government, under times of attack, show unity;
4) Came to the defense of vicious hate speech which when disseminated in highly unstable regions causes uprisings and opportunities for our enemies.
So yes, there may be a political advantage in causing so much cynicism. But man, did this guy even think about our Country for even one second? Does he even care? How could any American do what he did? How can a leader so blatantly disregard the balance between their ambition and the best interests of the country? I would like to know if historically we can point to any event where an American Presidential Candidate has used politics against the interest of the Country so callously. What Romney did was historic. Very few people have sunk this low.