Steve Benen sees the "apology tour" lie as central to Romney's candidacy:
This plainly dishonest claim is at the core of Romney’s entire campaign message — it’s in every speech; it’s in every debate; it’s even in the title of his book. And the underlying point of the lie isn’t just over some routine policy dispute — Romney desperately wants Americans to question the president’s love of country. The “apology” claim is a lie, but it’s also an ugly smear. The fact that Romney repeats this incessantly says a great deal about his character, or in this case, the lack thereof.
Yes, it's U-G-L-Y ugly. And dumb. The last thing we need as America faces what could be a deep historical shift away from being the undisputed global hegemon is a president unable to see flaws in his own country's politics or economics or history … in order to correct them. And the reason for Obama's attempt to acknowledge some faults in America's recent past was a simple one: the catastrophe of the Bush-Cheney foreign policy legacy. Rebuilding soft power is not unpatriotic. Regurgitating complacency with a hint of McCarthyism is.
The Dish 