Mitt Romney's recent speech to the conservative Heritage Foundation called President Barack Obama's trip to Egypt and Europe a "tour of apology" ("Romney says Obama putting nation at risk," Tribune , June 2). Reviews of the trip are positive, except those from the extreme right. Romney's insulting name-calling makes me wonder if he prefers the swaggering "bring 'em on" or belligerent "axis of evil" failed diplomacy of Bush-Cheney.

Romney attacked Obama's handling of the economy, but he ignored the disastrous problems left by President George W. Bush. His solution is to cut taxes for the super rich.

As in the past, Romney slants his ideology to whatever group he faces. He attacked Obama on his handling of North Korea, but he offered no solutions. He attacked Obama's defense budget in the usual Republican chest-thumping effort to appease their military industrial donors, but Obama has a competent secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, who is cutting waste in the department.

Lastly, there has been an unseemly silence from Romney (and Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett and Rep. Rob Bishop) regarding former Vice President Dick Cheney's public acknowledgment of illegal torture on the Republicans' watch.

Ron Swenson

St. George