It’s a tough call, but this may be one of the dumbest statements Mitt Romney has ever made:

The supposed pivot [to East Asia] has been oversold and carries with it an unintended consequence: It has left our allies with the worrying impression that we left the region and might do so again.

Sure, that’s it. Declaring that “the United States is a Pacific power, and we are here to stay” has left the allies in East Asia worried that they can’t rely on the U.S. The so-called pivot is just the latest expression of the administration’s conceit that Bush neglected East Asia and that “America is back” under Obama. In fact, the U.S. never “left,” so claims of its “return” are inevitably exaggerated and designed to flatter the administration making them. Romney has effectively just endorsed one of Obama’s criticisms of the Bush administration’s record.

Earlier in his op-ed, Romney said, “a China that comes to dominate Asia and much of the globe is increasingly becoming thinkable.” Maybe Romney considers it “thinkable,” but that doesn’t make it very likely. Even if the U.S. weren’t involved, the rest of Asia might have a few things to say about this supposed Chinese domination. Chinese global hegemony is not what will replace U.S. hegemony.