Mitt Romney blows it in the UK - YAY!

[Rum]

Will Mitt Romney's London woes hurt him at home?

Team Romney has long made it clear that the travelling pool - the journalists and camera people who record and monitor their every step - will not be allowed to follow them to the opening ceremony itself.

"No traveller or pool coverage available", reads the note. For that they must be glad. Otherwise they might have to cover their heads in blankets.

They will have had a glum breakfast. Last night's campaign fund-raising dinner, where each guest had to pay $25,000 (£16,000) a head, might have choked them. Their security physically stopped the cameras getting shots of anti-Mormon protesters, but nothing could block the barrage of negative coverage.

The London leg of Mitt Romney's much-vaunted foreign trip could hardly have gone worse.

It has even spawned its own Twitter hashtag: #romneyshambles.
“Start Quote

Mr Romney's message for viewers back home - that he connects with the leaders of America's allies and can be trusted with its interests abroad - lies in tatters”

Is there such a thing as being not an honoured guest, but a dishonoured one?

If so, Mr Romney is one. The prime minister has dismissed his 2002 Olympic triumph as being "in the middle of nowhere"; a UK minister told Newsnight he would have no chance of carrying the Olympic torch after his remarks, and Mayor Boris Johnson simply mocked him.

The British newspapers are vicious this morning. "Romney slur causes stir - wannabe president in Games insult," says the Sun.

"Who invited party pooper Romney?" asks the Daily Mail, above a headline listing the "gaffes of muddled Mitt".

The Times is, if anything, even more savage. "'Nowhere man' Romney loses his way with gaffe about the Games" is their headline.
'Mr Leader'

You can argue all this is rather unfair. Let's look at those other alleged "gaffes".

Calling Ed Miliband "Mr Leader" is odd, but less so to American ears. However, a call to a protocol officer in the US embassy would have prevented it.

London Mayor Boris Johnson: "There's a man called Mitt Romney who thinks we aren't ready!"

Talking about the "backside of Downing Street" had me sniggering, but most Americans would be unaware of the gentle slang for what they, but not we, would call their "fanny".

Revealing that he had been given a briefing by the head of MI6 may be against British practice but is hardly giving the game away to terrorists - a country where the secret service wear jackets marked "secret service" is rather more open about these things.

As for the major offence, Mitt Romney was merely raising the same doubts behind the stories that have dominated both the BBC news and newspaper headlines for weeks.

The Sun did not accuse the Mail of a slur, nor the Mail say the Sun was a party-pooper for raising legitimate questions about London's readiness to run the Games.
'In tatters'

Romney's pitch at home is that he is a businessman not a politician. It is rather disingenuous given that he was an elected governor from 2003 to 2007 and has been campaigning to be president ever then.

But his most fervent supporters might argue that he was giving a blunt, truthful assessment of London's readiness rather than indulging diplomatic double-talk.

If he had said that the Games would go without a hitch that would have been foolhardy.

And one of his big arguments is that Obama is too worried about offending foreigners. He's certainly demonstrated that he doesn't care about that.

That's the case for the defence. But no-one said life, or the media, is fair.

Mr Romney's message for viewers back home - that he connects with the leaders of America's allies and can be trusted with its interests abroad - lies in tatters.

He's offended the British government. The British press have decided he is a knave and a fool. Opponents at home have gleefully leapt on his woes.

All he needs now is for his wife's horse to win gold, and be heavily featured in all the TV pictures back home. It is competing in the dressage competition, the one where the prancing animals perform a difficult, elegant ballet.

It is safe to say that dressage does not have the same place in the heart of the American blue-collar worker as Nascar racing or baseball.

Pinning Mitt to a refined and elitist sport might be even more damaging than his unique twist on the special relationship.

[Ian]

He's set to blow it in Israel in a few days too. He's going there to hopefully siphon off some Jewish votes from Obama and raise his profile with Christian evangelicals, and he's noted that Obama has been less-than-gracious towards Israel. But... the day he shows up is also going to be the day that the President (uncoincidentally) is set to sign a bill strengthening US-Israeli military cooperation.

I do enjoy a good bit of schadenfreude, at least towards Michigan football fans and Republicans.

[Mysturji]

Merge.
http://www.rationalia.com/forum/viewtop ... 22&t=38420

[Coito ergo sum]

He blew it?

The British press has been reporting a lot of nail biting over whether the Brits were ready and prepared for the Olympics this year. It's been going on for months. So Mitt mentioned that some of the reports were a concern? That's "blowing it?"

Give me a break.

[Rum]

He blew it?

The British press has been reporting a lot of nail biting over whether the Brits were ready and prepared for the Olympics this year. It's been going on for months. So Mitt mentioned that some of the reports were a concern? That's "blowing it?"

Give me a break.

He's hoping to be a diplomat.

[Ian]

It's the difference between fretting with your spouse over how your house looks before guests show up to a dinner party while you're working to get everything ready, and one of the guests coming in and griping about it after they've arrived.

But I'm not really worried about the Olympics - those Anglo-Saxons know how to organize and pull things together.

[Wumbologist]

I guess now nobody in the UK will vote for him.

[Kristie]

I guess now nobody in the UK will vote for him.

[Coito ergo sum]

When asked about the preparations for the Olympics in an interview on Wednesday night with the NBC anchor Brian Williams, Romney said: "There are a few things that were disconcerting, the stories about the private security firm not having enough people, supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials, that obviously is not something which is encouraging. Because there are three parts that makes Games successful.

"Number one, of course, are the athletes. That's what overwhelmingly the Games are about. Number two are the volunteers. And they'll have great volunteers here. But number three are the people of the country. Do they come together and celebrate the Olympic moment? And that's something which we only find out once the Games actually begin."

A few things were disconcerting:

Last-minute problems plague London Olympics http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics- ... --oly.html

As London Olympics loom, so do problems http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/eur ... story.html

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/spor ... 207995.cms Hours before London Olympics, Team India breathing fire over shoddy kits

The above quote is somehow a "gaffe?"

WTF people. Talk about reaching....

[Coito ergo sum]

It's the difference between fretting with your spouse over how your house looks before guests show up to a dinner party while you're working to get everything ready, and one of the guests coming in and griping about it after they've arrived.

But I'm not really worried about the Olympics - those Anglo-Saxons know how to organize and pull things together.

Of course, he didn't do any griping at all. The quote is pretty reasonable. There WERE disconcerting signs, but he didn't say the Olympics wouldn't come off well.

FFS

[Ian]

Spin-a-spin-a-spin-a-spin....

Don't worry, he'll be in Israel next. And Israel is probably the only country on earth that prefers to see Republicans in the White House.

[Coito ergo sum]

Spin-a-spin-a-spin-a-spin....

Don't worry, he'll be in Israel next. And Israel is probably the only country on earth that prefers to see Republicans in the White House.

It's only "spin" that calls this a gaffe. If it were Obama, I'd be defending him on this one. What Romney said was an innocuous statement of fact and wasn't in the least a slight against the Brits. This a manufactuversy extraordinaire.

Come on, Ian...

[Rum]

It's the difference between fretting with your spouse over how your house looks before guests show up to a dinner party while you're working to get everything ready, and one of the guests coming in and griping about it after they've arrived.

But I'm not really worried about the Olympics - those Anglo-Saxons know how to organize and pull things together.

Of course, he didn't do any griping at all. The quote is pretty reasonable. There WERE disconcerting signs, but he didn't say the Olympics wouldn't come off well.

FFS

He created an extraordinarily bad impression. This wasn't the only slip. He called Ed Milliband, the leader of the Labour party 'Mr Leader' LOL!

[Coito ergo sum]

It's the difference between fretting with your spouse over how your house looks before guests show up to a dinner party while you're working to get everything ready, and one of the guests coming in and griping about it after they've arrived.

But I'm not really worried about the Olympics - those Anglo-Saxons know how to organize and pull things together.

Of course, he didn't do any griping at all. The quote is pretty reasonable. There WERE disconcerting signs, but he didn't say the Olympics wouldn't come off well.

FFS

He created an extraordinarily bad impression. This wasn't the only slip. He called Ed Milliband, the leader of the Labour party 'Mr Leader' LOL!

Only if you don't listen or read what he said, and go by the retarded headlines. Come on Brits, you're supposed to be smarter than we Americans are.

Piers Morgan Defends Romney’s Olympics Comments: ‘He Was Just Speaking The Truth’

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/piers-morgan ... the-truth/

“It’s no secret over here that for the last three weeks the security around the Olympics has been a shambles,” said Morgan. “The outside firm they got in to run it has been all over the place – they didn’t have enough people and the army had to be drafted in. So, Mitt Romney was only saying exactly what has been happening.”

“He’s run an Olympics, so I thought he was perfectly entitled to be critical,” Morgan continued. He said that the English press jumped on him because they wanted Romney to “talk us up a bit,” but the substance of Romney’s critique was on point.

“I thought it was a bit of a fuss about nothing,” said Morgan. “He was just speaking the truth which can sometimes be rather unpalatable.”

[Coito ergo sum]

It's the difference between fretting with your spouse over how your house looks before guests show up to a dinner party while you're working to get everything ready, and one of the guests coming in and griping about it after they've arrived.

But I'm not really worried about the Olympics - those Anglo-Saxons know how to organize and pull things together.

Of course, he didn't do any griping at all. The quote is pretty reasonable. There WERE disconcerting signs, but he didn't say the Olympics wouldn't come off well.

FFS

He created an extraordinarily bad impression. This wasn't the only slip. He called Ed Milliband, the leader of the Labour party 'Mr Leader' LOL!

Only if you don't listen or read what he said, and go by the retarded headlines. Come on Brits, you're supposed to be smarter than we Americans are.

Piers Morgan Defends Romney’s Olympics Comments: ‘He Was Just Speaking The Truth’

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/piers-morgan ... the-truth/

“It’s no secret over here that for the last three weeks the security around the Olympics has been a shambles,” said Morgan. “The outside firm they got in to run it has been all over the place – they didn’t have enough people and the army had to be drafted in. So, Mitt Romney was only saying exactly what has been happening.”

“He’s run an Olympics, so I thought he was perfectly entitled to be critical,” Morgan continued. He said that the English press jumped on him because they wanted Romney to “talk us up a bit,” but the substance of Romney’s critique was on point.

“I thought it was a bit of a fuss about nothing,” said Morgan. “He was just speaking the truth which can sometimes be rather unpalatable.”