Thursday, July 26, 2012

Romney ShamblesDay One: "Disconcerting" London Gaffes - With Update 2


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Romney Shambles Day One: Disconcerting London Gaffes
Romney Shambles Day Two: British Press Pounces
Romney Shambles Day Three: On to Israel
Romney Shambles Day Four: Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran
Romney Shambles Day Five: Poland
Romney Shambles Day Six: Warsaw Speech
Romney Shambles Review


You know it's hard to know just how well it will turn out. There are a few things that were disconcerting. The stories about the private security firm not having enough people, the supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials - that obviously is not something which is encouraging.
. . . It is impossible for absolutely no mistakes to occur. Of course there will be errors from time to time, but those are all overshadowed by the extraordinary demonstrations of courage, character and determination by the athletes.
The Games are, after all, about the athletes, the volunteers and the people of the community who come together to celebrate those athletes. As soon as the Games begin, we all forget the organisers and focus on the athletes.
. . . Do they come together and celebrate the Olympic moment? That's something which we only find out once the Games actually begin.
~ Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney in London

We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world. Of course it’s easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere.
~ British Prime Minister David Cameraon, referring perhaps to Mitt's Olympic experience in Salt Lake City, Utah

I think we will show the whole world not just that we come together as a United Kingdom but also we're extremely good at welcoming people from across the world.
~ Prime Minister Cameron, quoted by CNN

To look out of the back side of 10 Downing Street and see a venue having been constructed and knowing that athletes will be carrying out their competition almost in the backyard of the Prime Minister is really quite an accomplishment on the part of those who wanted to make sure that the Olympics was not something held far off where the people can't enjoy, but something held right in London itself
~ Mitt Romney's Palinesque Word Salad about his new view of the London Olympics after meeting with Cameron, from Independent UK

Romney Rolling Back His Previous Statements:



Like you, Mr Leader, I look forward to our conversations this morning ... and recognise, of course, the unique relationship that exists between our nations, our commitment to common values, our commitment to peace in the world and our desire to see a stronger and growing economy.
~ Mitt Romney addressing Labo Leader, Ed Ed Miliband

Mr Leader? Did Mitt Romney forget Ed Miliband's name?
~ Headline on the Independent UK

I appreciated the insights and perspectives of the leaders of the government here and the opposition here as well as the head of MI6.
~ Mitt Romney bragging about meeting ir John Sawers, the chief of Britain's MI6 Secret Intelligence Service

For our American readership, this isn't like bragging you just met David Petraeus. The British take on the national secret intelligence service comes with an extra-heavy dollop of the whole secret thing. The very existence of the MI6 was not officially acknowledged until 1994.
Good luck, Romney handlers: this is only stop No. 1 on a three-stop international tour. What will he say in Jerusalem? That when you really look at it there are some pretty daunting barriers to the peace process, like take all those Arab Israelis, how's that going to work out for a Jewish state?
~ Guardian UK

Not content with upsetting his British hosts, Mr Romney has now also managed to enrage the travelling American press corps, who pay tens of thousands of dollars to follow him around the globe. After his meeting with Ed Miliband, the Republican presidential challenger apparently took questions only from British reporters.
The gaffe-prone Mr Romney is so rarely made available to these media "embeds" on the trail that his campaign has been nicknamed the "Mittness Protection Programme". So his decision to ignore them during one such "avail" went down predictably badly.
~ John Swaine, reporter for Telegraph UK

Romney’s press-corps faux pas: During his meeting with Miliband, according to the pool report, Romney answered questions from British reporters but did not take any questions from the American reporters, which isn’t protocol. In fact, it’s considered a bit of an insult to the U.S reporters who are following the presumptive GOP presidential nominee overseas. Even bringing this up will lead some to say, “There goes the media, whining again.” But folks, those of us that have traveled overseas and been involved in these VERY limited press avails have rarely seen heads of democracies TOTALLY ignore their own press corps but answer ANOTHER press corps’ questions. Sure, it would have looked REALLY bad had Romney ignored the U.K. questions. But is the campaign so intent on limiting media access that the candidate won’t call an audible when standing next to a leader from another country who DOES want to take questions?
~ MSNBC First Read

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If Shakespeare was still alive he couldn't write a character better than Mitt!!!
~ comment by rksnj67 on Huff Post

Just thank the right wing for allowing this embarrassment to talk and represent the US around the world. This guy is worse than bush, didn't think that was possible.
~ comment by meronnotu on Huffington Post

Swiss Mitt to Brits: You limeys could have fixed these Olympics if you had followed MY Great and Powerful Bain Leadership Skills. Just get $1.3 billion from the US Federal Treasury and all your problems are solved.
~ comment by sunbeltvoter on Huff Post

The Gaffe-Tastic Mr. Romney
~ Headline on Salon.com

What accounts for Romney’s capacity to consistently insult even those he’s trying to court? I’d argue it’s his fantastic sense of entitlement, with its accompanying inability to feel empathy for the less fortunate. It may or may not be connected to his pranking/bullying impulse, which showed itself in his school days when he forcefully cut the hair of a gay classmate, led a sight-impaired teacher into a closed door, or intimated friends by impersonating a state trooper. Romney clearly lacks the ability to put himself in the shoes of others (except other wealthy business owners). That’s a bad trait on the campaign trail, but when it extends to the leaders of other sovereign nations, it’s a terrible trait in a president.
~ Joan Walsh on Salon.com

He's showing all the tact and savvy you'd expect from someone relying on crib notes prepared by John Bolton and Dan Senor.
~ comment by Dartagnan on Daily Kos

Did he meet James Bond?
~ comment by Lenny Flank on Daily Kos

Being condescended to by a rich Yank - I'm sure they're just eating that up.
~ comment by Igmcp on Daily Kos

Mitt overseas, a glimpse of a Palin presidency.
~ comment by FiredUpinCA on Daily Kos

































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UPDATE 2





I hear there's a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know whether we're ready. He wants to know whether we're ready. Are we ready? Are we ready? Yes, we are!
~ Boris Johnson to the crowd waiting for the Olympic Torch in Hyde Park today




















Mitt Romney made all kinds of news for saying and doing the wrong things in the first full day of his trip to London. The trip was meant to make him look presidential. In the apt summation of John Podhoretz, it made him look like Mr. Bean. The Romney show continues tomorrow, when he attends the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games. Should be fun!
• British politicians David Cameron and Boris Johnson took umbrage at Romney's remarks and ridiculed Romney in front of tens of thousands of people, respectively. We can't believe we just typed that sentence.
~ The Guardian UK





All he has to do is show up and say wonderful stuff about his host and why we're going to be strong allies. And everybody in those countries and around the world will understand. It's a rebuke, without saying so, a silent rebuke to Obama - 'you treated the Brits and the Poles and the Israelis pretty shabbily, particularly the Brits. Remember when he came into the Oval Office he removed the bust of Churchill. There's a state department spokesman who said 'there's no special relationship,' etcetera, etcetera, a long list of stuff....
All Romney has to do, say nothing. It’s like a guy in the 100-meter dash. All he has to do is to finish, he doen’t have to win. And instead, he tackles the guy in the lane next to him and ends up disqualified. I don’t get it.
~ Republican Pundit Charles Krauthammer on Fox News


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