Wow. It was pretty obvious Mitt Romney really shot himself in the foot when he crassly exploited the deaths of American diplomatic personnel overseas to attack President Obama, but the new survey from Pew Research really drives this point home: Middle East Turmoil Closely Followed; Romney’s Comments Viewed Negatively.

In his rush to parrot the wingnut talking point that Obama “apologizes for America,” Mitt Romney may have truly sunk his campaign.

About four-in-ten Americans (43%) have followed news about the attacks on U.S. embassies in the Middle East and the killing of an American ambassador very closely, making it by far the most closely followed foreign news story of the year.

Those who have followed this story have much more positive opinions about Barack Obama’s handling of the situation than Mitt Romney’s comments on the crisis. Nearly half (45%) approve of Obama’s handling of the recent attacks on U.S. embassies and the killing of the U.S. ambassador in Libya; 36% disapprove of Obama’s handling of this situation.

In contrast, only about a quarter (26%) of those who have tracked news on turmoil in the Middle East approve of Romney’s comments on the situation; nearly half (48%) disapprove.