That's what common sense, to say nothing of common decency and leadership called for. But what we got was pretty much politics as usual, more campaigning.

Mitt Romney made a big mistake in immediately lambasting President Obama, trying to use the tragic and dangerous events to score some political points. One could legitimately argue otherwise, but I believe President Obama would have been better advised not to go ahead with scheduled campaigning, including Las Vegas, as he did. I think taking a few hours, at a minimum, suspending and/or postponing his vote-seeking would have been the better decision.

Romney's clearly was the worst of the two declarations "of a moratorium on common sense." And even some of his own most influential, most experienced supporters are saying so. He's already paying a price for it, and the price may get heavier in the days ahead. That doesn't mean his chances for election are doomed. It does mean that he has again hurt his prospects, if even just in the short run.

There's still a long way to go. For each of these two candidates, they're three-quarters of the way up the mountain, but the hard climb is still to come.