Romney's Olympics gaffe-- shades of international relations to come?

1. 74

   Mighty Momposted 12 years ago

   So already Romney has insulted London and pissed off the head of the Olympics and PM Cameron by expressing concern they won't be ready in time.
   Not scoring big points with that.
   If he can't handle himself in an English speaking nation, how in the heck can we set him loose in really culturally different milieus like the Middle East or Asia?
   
   Heard one comment: "Worse than Sarah Palin."
   

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      gmwilliamsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Oh boy, Mr. Romney made yet another faux pas.    What are WE going to do with the lad..................

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      Josakposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Wonderful the guy isn't even president yet and he has already alienated one of our best allies *facepalm*.

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      Don Wposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      It gets worse. You'd think he might be discreet about a meeting with the security services. Nope. In a press conference he blabbed about the "insights" he got from a meeting with the head of MI6! Hope he doesn't continue to display that type of poor judgement and indiscretion when he is in the Middle East.

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   Horatio Plotposted 12 years ago

   Within a few hours he went from talking of "disconcerting" signs for The London Games to predicting a "very successful" Olympics.
   You do have to admire his backtracking skills though. He changed his mind faster than a ferret can run up a Bishop's cassock. (Which is quite fast, I'm told)

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      Mighty Momposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Predicting a "very successful" Olympics?
      The man is a forecasting genius.
      Prescient, even.
      

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      Uninvited Writerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      " He changed his mind faster than a ferret can run up a Bishop's cassock."
      
      

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   Uninvited Writerposted 12 years ago

   As Romney arrived in London for a three-day stay, The Daily Telegraph quoted an unnamed Romney campaign adviser who lauded the special relationship between the two countries.
   
   “We are part of an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and he feels that the special relationship is special,” the Telegraph quoted the adviser as saying, “The White House didn’t fully appreciate the shared history we have.”
   
   http://www.torontosun.com/2012/07/26/an … omney-tour

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      Mighty Momposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for that, UW.
      I'm sure you and all the Canadians* up there feel a strong shared Anglo-Saxon heritage and a special, special relationship with Londoners as well as Americans.
      
      *Except for the French Canadians and maybe a smattering of other immigrant groups, of course.
      

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         Uninvited Writerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Not to mention the Scots, the Welsh, the Northern Irish, etc...

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            Mighty Momposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            And Aussies and Kiwis, too, I would presume.
            

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         Xenonlitposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Does anyone realize that the vast majority of African Americans "share" an Anglo-Saxon heritage? I didn't get my Irish eyes from Zimbabwe, you know.

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            Jean Bakulaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Can you imagine the damage Romney could do in a country where our diplomatic relationships are barely that? It's downright scary.

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4. 74

   Mighty Momposted 12 years ago

   There's already a term for it: #romneyshambles.
   
   By now you might have heard that Mitt Romney's trip to the United Kingdom is not going very well. The Guardian is keeping a running count of his various missteps—from demeaning the London Olympics to accidentally revealing classified information—and it's not pretty.
   
   In fact, it's gotten so bad that tweeters on both sides of the Atlantic are mocking the Republican presidential candidate's repeated stumbles with the hashtag "#romneyshambles." The intent behind the hashtag is easy enough to figure out: "Romney" because of Mitt Romney, and "shambles" because his journey across the pond has become an unmitigated disaster. But figuring out exactly where the hashtag came from, and why it's so funny, requires a little background knowledge of British pop culture.
   
   "Romneyshambles" is a bastardization of the word "omnishambles," which itself comes from a popular BBC sitcom called The Thick Of It. The show, which will air its fourth season this fall, is a black-hearted, profanity-laden satire of UK politics, set in the government's fictional Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship (DOSAC).
   
   The Thick Of It is a popular show, but the popularity of the word "omnishambles" didn't really take off until April of this year, when Labour party leader Ed Milliband famously used it to describe Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron's budget. During a speech on the floor of parliament, Milliband said, "we’re all keen to hear the Prime Minister’s view as to why he thinks, four weeks on from the budget, even people within Downing Street are calling it an ‘omnishambles’ budget."
   
   Since then, the word has formally entered the British political lexicon. Scottish journalist Alex Massie even wrote an article for the American magazine Foreign Policy with a title that labels Cameron, "Mr. Omnishambles." Now, with #romneyshambles penetrating American political consciousness, our own political vocabulary just got a little more colorful.

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   screamingposted 12 years ago

   He needs a writer talking into a mike with ear phones connected to his head to avoid these mistakes! lol I wonder if he uses the same format for creating jobs? lol

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6. 88

   Jean Bakulaposted 12 years ago

   Thanks for the explanation of #romneyshambles, MM. I love it when new words come into the language. I was just beginning to be able to say "nukular" instead of nuclear when Bush left office. Obama is such a good speaker, he just never says anything fun .

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      Mighty Momposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I know, isn't it perfect?
      If Team Obama doesn't pick up the #romneyshambles line and run, run, run with it all over social media, then they frigging deserve to lose this election.
      Thank you, Britain!

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         Teddletonmrposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I can see the headlines now, Mr. Obama loses reelection bid, cool due to misuse of social media 

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            Mighty Momposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Is it possible to misuse social media?

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               Hollie Thomasposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               MM, #RomneyShambles is trending on twitter. Some of the comments are absolutely hilarious. But I have to show you this comment posted in the Guardian comments section of Romeny's gaffes.
               
               I always wonder how he and so many others manage to be so stupid. Given their position, you'd suspect they don't even have to be remotely intelligent. In dealing with the constant, ridiculous media coverage, just prepare by training themselves in saying simple, honest things that no-one could argue with.
               
               For example:
               
               Mitt Romney is a fucking awful twat.
               
               Simple, concise and based entirely upon fact.

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7. 59

   Hollie Thomasposted 12 years ago

   Oh, new hash tag developing now- and referring to his wife's horse in the equestrian event
   
   #yeswecanter
   
   

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8. 61

   Xenonlitposted 12 years ago

   Good grief. He's going to Israel next. Then Poland...Poland! We are doomed if relations with Poland go down the drain, ha ha!

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   Uninvited Writerposted 12 years ago

   I wonder what he thought of the salute to the NHS at the Olympics opening ceremonies

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