"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."His reference, of course, was to Romney's having been in charge of the Olympics in Utah.
And honestly, folks, what Romney said really wasn't that bad -- except when you consider the context. He just said their problem with the private security firm not having enough guards "was not encouraging" as an indication of London's readiness; and we'd just have to wait and see how it all turns out.
Consevative pundit Charles Krauthammer piled on for both of us, correctly pointing out that context is everything here. Speaking on Fox News, here's what he had to say about it:
"It's unbelievable, it's beyond human understanding, it's incomprehensible. I'm out of adjectives."Romney merely needed to express solidarity with our British allies and say nice things about them as hosts, he said.
"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 doesn’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."Well, I think I do get it. Romney has this attitude lurking beneath the surface that impels him to flaunt his superiority and self-righteously put other people down. He seems to have no empathy or even awareness of the effect of what he says. He's just out to display how right he is. Of course, the covert message in his gaffe was: "I did it better." And it didn't occur to him that he was insulting his hosts -- with the whole world watching.
Nobody can just be different; they're wrong. Remember when he led the pack of prep school boys in attacking another student who was different from their preppy look? They held him down and cut off his long hair? Same thing. There's a streak of cruelty in it too.
Nine time gold medalist, American sprinter Carl Lewis put the icing on the cake. "I swear, sometimes I think some Americans shouldn't leave the country. Are you kidding me? Stay home if you don't know what to say."
So true character does come out. Voters should take this into account. Such insensitivity can lead to wars being started, allies being lost, diplomatic delicacies being trampled on.
Ralph
Romney has also violated the unwritten, but long-respected policy that presidential candidates do not speak ill of each other while broad. And especially the do not criticize the president's foreign policy while on foreign soil.
ReplyDeleteWhich is what he said. Something to the effect that we wouldn't have had the Arab Spring if Obama's foreign policy had not been a failure. But wait, didnt' we think the Arab Spring was a good thing?
Is Romney simply ignorant of such diplomatic understanding? Is he simply inept and unable to control what comes out of his mouth? Or is he thumbing his nose, not only at the president but at our solidarity as a nation?
Well -- think about it. It fits with what I said above about his character. Convinced of his superiority, lack of respect for others, and a mean streak.