Dear Editor,

It is despicable that Candidate Romney issued a preemptive criticism of President Obama even as American Ambassador Chris Stevens was being killed in Libya.  Not only was Romney misinformed and misguided, but he failed to adhere to a basic rule of American politics: politics stops at the water’s edge.  When our country is attacked, we stand behind our President, no matter what political party he belongs to.  Romney’s statements demonstrate how corruptly he values partisan politics over uniting around our country.  He showed greed for power instead of patriotism.  Romney seems to think that he is exempt from our common rules of decency.

Another common convention that Romney thinks he is exempt from is that of candidates releasing past income tax filings during their campaign.  If you want to see a person’s character, look at his finances.  You’ll see what values he really believes in.  We voters have come to expect such transparency from our candidates; it gives us one opportunity to objectively see the real person behind the paid advertisements.  Again, Candidate Romney fails.

Yours truly,

Bruce Joffe, Piedmont, Calif.