Did Romney Actually Say He'd Take Advantage of Hostages or Dead Americans?

Watch the now infamous Romney tapes, starting at the 4-minute mark. A questioner asks him about foreign policy and they start to talk about the hostage crisis in 1980. Then Romney drops this nugget:

And yet, in that election, in the Jimmy Carter election, the fact that we had hostages in Iran, I mean, that was all we talked about. And we had the two helicopters crash in the desert, I mean, that was the focus, and so him [Reagan] solving that made all the difference in the world. I'm afraid today that if you simply got Iran to agree to stand down on nuclear weapons, they'd go, "Now hold on. It's really a -- "I mean, if something of that nature presents itself I will work to find a way to take advantage of the opportunity.

I'm sorry, what? If there's an international crisis where Americans die and/or hostages are taken, you'll "work to find a way to take advantage of the opportunity"?

I might not believe that's what Mitt Romney meant by this statement, if it wasn't exactly what he did down the road, when he immediately tried to politically capitalize on the attacks on our diplomatic outposts, before we even knew who had died.

I know many people have been dismayed over Governor Romney's comments about the mythical 47 percent who don't pay taxes and mooch off the government, but, to me, this is so much worse.

It shows that the political aspirations and ego of Mitt Romney have no limits -- not even national security or American lives are spared. As Commander in Chief, with the military under his control and his finger on the button, what other "opportunities" would he "find a way to take advantage of?"

I shudder to think.