Mitt Romney's trip to England:
July 29, 2012
Some of the remarks Romney said during discussions with Prime Minister David Cameron and a follow up interview with Brian Williams on NBC appeared a bit either off-collar or misconstrued in regards to what he had to say about Olympic preparation in London and other comments. From someone who helped orchestrate getting the Winter Games to Salt Lake City in 2002, a place that he identifies strongly due to his Mormon faith, it's hard to fathom that he might undermine another city's handling of such immense preparations. He surely understands to some extent the effort and bureaucratic hoops that are necessary. It's expected too that he would conceive a different level of degree that exists for the London games with it's far greater urban setting and security needs than would likely be necessary for the Salt Lake City games. It's fair to say that SLC likely had it's hands full, but the scale isn't like that of the games currently going on in London. So was Romney's comments to David Cameron about transportation and security being "disconcerting" meant as a criticism to the handling of the events so far? Unlikely... A man making his first international tour of the campaign trail to visit our foremost ally, Britain, isn't there to insult nor is he likely going to provide detailed ambitions of a future presidential foreign agenda.
It would likewise seem ridiculous that Romney would expect to gain resounding foreign approval being that he's an opponent to Obama who has maintained solid relations with Cameron since he was elected PM two years ago. So the best advice that a political advisor likely could offer in the spirit of such an encounter is to just play your diplomatic card mildly, which is what Romney appears to have done. After his comment about "disconcerting" security, Romney expressed confidence that the games would "be highly successful." In an off camera remark, Cameron's response was "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." This doesn't warrant an interpretation of a slap in the face. Yes it is a little cynical but seems to just express the truth of the matter while also playing at some political egoism for a world leader who's just met with a candidate.
Other of Romney's comments that received speculation from liberal news reports was, "that the shared anglo-saxon relationship among the two countries is indeed special," supposedly viewed by some including David Axelrod as having racist undertones. This connotation is ridiculous. The comment appears solely based on standard nomenclature regarding the shared origins of the two countries. America was once a colony of England after all.
The news in London didn't seem to open their hearts to Romney during his visit. Scrutiny was conveyed by liberal columnists of the aforementioned "gaffes" as well as the appropriateness of his meeting with the head of the MI6, secret service agency. The two day trip which began Thursday is making it's next stop in Israel where talks may expect to be more substantive, particularly with the incentive of seeking donations from the Jewish constituency in the US. It may take more than simply recalling a few local headlines of the host countries newspapers to get the full scope of Romney's achievements from the overseas visit.
What did seem to draw attention though to local headlines in London was Michelle Obama's donning of a $6800 jacket during a head of state function at the Royal Palace during the opening ceremonies on Friday. Enough at least seems to be known about the Romney's that British media gibed that the reputation of Ann Romney's alleged penchant for expensive garb may have to take a back seat to the first lady.